Darling If You Love Me
by The Incredible Nameless Wonder
Summary: The year was 1945 and Dr. Cullen was sent to Germany with his family to treat the refugee's from the most horrific death camps. Among them was a dying woman and her child. Thinking of Rosalie's happiness, Carlisle took the baby when he is asksed to keep her safe. The girl was raised on tales of the infamous Volturi, but will they live up to the stories? Caius/OC.
1. Chapter 1: The Gates of Hell

**__Pic's in my profile!  
**

**_Chapter One: The Gates Of Hell_**

The rumours were that the filth and disease could frighten a man to death. Carlisle Cullen didn't believe those tales when they were told to him by shaken nurses and doctors but his mouth fell open in surprise when he entered the crowded hospital. Dozens of men, women and children were lined up on cots, shaking from an imagined chill and struggling to breathe. He had never seen anything like this in all his years of living and it _was_ almost too much for him.

It was 1945, two days after the end of World War II. Dr. Cullen, one of the most respected doctors of his time, regardless of his youth, was sent into Germany to care for the few survivors of one of the many death camps they had been freed from. Most were incurable. The typhus that had raged through this very room had been snuffed out over the course of a day, with as many doctors and nurses as possible helping to disinfect and treat the prisoners. Even after the hours of hard work his colleagues had been through, it was not enough to save everyone and it was his turn to inform the family of the death.

He wondered how he could possibly face all of these people who had been through more pain and suffering than he could ever go through and tell them that their loved one was gone. It put his problems in perspective but he had no time to dwell on such things, he was needed. A quivering nurse who looked almost frightened of the lucky prisoners scrambled over to him in a frenzied state, looking as though she'd seen a ghost.

"Oh god, Dr. Cullen, there's another case! We've quarantined her in the back room but it will spread like wildfire if it gets out, I can barely stand I'm so tired, all of us are, can you take it from here?" She asked and he intended to give her a reassuring smile. What crossed over his lips was a sad frown as she nodded and bustled away to who-knows-where, a spring in her steps at the fact that she didn't have to face the disease any longer.

The pale man with light haired immediately set off for the room the nurse mentioned, not bothering to put on gloves or a face-mask. He opened the door marked 'DO NOT ENTER; QUARANTINED ZONE' in red capital letters and surveyed the sight in front of him.

A woman that couldn't have been older than thirty sat slightly upright on a cot, blankets drawn up to her hips and a faint smile on her face as she cradled a bundle to her chest. Her shaved head had barely begun to grow dark hair again as she looked up, her sunken face caked with dirt and sweat. Her face was beet red with fever and large patches of her bone-thin body were coated in a red, raw rash. Exhausted relief settled into her eyes as she saw him, her dark eyes glassy from sickness.

"Wer bist du?" _(Who are you) _She asked in a language that Carlisle didn't fully understand. He was conversational in German, but this woman's accent was awful, as if she'd learned the dialect on her own.

"Ich kann dich nicht verstehen, ich bin Arzt, ich bin hier um zu helfen."_(I can't understand you, but I am a doctor, and I am here to help.)_ He replied and the woman shook her head. Carlisle wondered what she was thinking as she looked down to the bundle again, wishing for the briefest of moments that he had his adopted son Edward's gifts of telepathy.

"Ich bin nicht mehr zu helfen, Arzt. " _(I am beyond help, doctor) _That he did understand. She looked again to the bundle cradled against her chest and he took a step closer, wondering just what she was holding.

He was surprised when a small, pale face peeked out of the rags, clear of any fever but as angular and starved as its mother.

"Wir können die Behandlung zu erhalten, kann Ihr Leben verschont werden. " _(We can obtain treatment, your life can be spared.) _Carlisle pressed and still the woman shook her head.

"Ich habe auf diesen Moment gewartet für fünf Jahre, Arzt. Ich habe das Leben mit allem, was ich verlassen, um ihretwillen zu geben hatte, und jetzt klammerte, es ist meine Zeit." _(I have been waiting for this moment for five years, doctor. I have clinged to life with everything I had left to give for her sake, and now, it is my time.) _Her voice was slurred slightly, making it difficult for him to hear, but her meaning was there.

"Sie sprechen von dem Tod, als ob es eine gute Seite hat. "_(You speak of death as if it has a bright side.) _Carlisle said quickly, knowing that his time to change her mind was numbered.

"Es gibt, Herr Doktor, es ist ragt schwerer zu erkennen. " _(There is, doctor, it's just harder to see.) _Her statement almost angered the usually very collected Carlisle, although he wasn't sure of the exact reason.

_She has a child to care for! _He thought to himself as he considered taking the child form her and ridding any chance of her daughter catching the sickness.

"Aber was ist mit Ihrem Kind, was wird aus ihr werden? " _(But what of your child, what will become of her?) _He questioned, knowing that it was pointless to do so. But still, he couldn't dispel the curiosity within him, almost as if he wanted to know exactly what this woman had planned.

She grew silent and looked down to her lap. A triumphant smirk shone in Carlisle's eyes as he realized that she had no plan in regards to her child's future. This smirk faded quickly and a frown spread on his face as she remained mute, not looking at him or her baby. She had a pensive look on her face, as if she was deep in thought.

When she did look back up to him, a hysterical, mad look was in her eyes, as if she had a brilliant idea. This did not faze Carlisle as he kept his expressionless gaze locked with hers.

"Nimm sie. Halten Sie sie sicher. "_ (Take her. Keep her safe.) _He said nothing as she nodded like it was the best idea she'd ever had. "Ja, Engel, Arzt, was du bist! Schützen Sie sur von mir, lass mich in Frieden sterben, ich bitte Sie!" _(Yes, angel, doctor, whatever you are! Protect her for me, let me die in peace, I beg of you!) _Her voice rose in pitch as she struggled to sit up, jarring her child in a mad rush to stand.

Carlisle instantly feared for the baby girl and took the remaining few steps left to reach the woman, taking the child from her, who had begun to cry at hearing the octave that her mother had reached.

The woman sunk back on the bed, a smile on her face as she closed her eyes, her breathing slow and heavy as she slipped into a coma, her thin chest barley moving. Carlisle looked down at the screaming child in his arms and then to the mother, knowing that she was beyond help now. He said a prayer for her soul and sat down on the only other piece of furniture in the room, a chair.

Her child quieted down and watched her mother intently from the doctor's arms as her breathing slowed all the more, with Carlisle's freezing hands chilling her to the bone. He covered her eyes as the slight rise and fall of her mother's chest stopped and she grew silent. As if on command the baby girl's dark eyes filled with tears as she loudly mourned the unseen death. Carlisle stood after a moment of staring at the corpse, his body still and as unmoving as the woman's.

He was jerked from the heavy silence by the sound of footsteps, scared-stiff nurses in gas masks burst through the door not a second later to inspect the patient. Their glove-clad hands flew to their covered mouths in shock at the body, and at Dr. Cullen, who sat in a chair, cradling a baby without any protective gear on.

He stood, telling the nurses that the woman was dead when he entered, reassuring them that the disease cannot spread from a corpse as he exited to room, claiming to take the child to the tiny maternity ward where the few babies who had lived were put.

His footsteps rang out in the hallways as he approached the door where the children were kept, knowing deep down that he would never see the baby girl again if he gave her to the women that were on the other side of the wall. He stopped when his hand brushed the door knob and looked down at the baby, who had begun to shiver the slightest bit from his natural chill.

Her wailing had ceased when the nurses entered the quarantined zone and had remained quiet in his trek to the maternity ward, her eyes fixed on him like he was the most interesting thing in the world.

He felt a shift in his heart as he looked at her, her cheeks hollow from malnutrition and her sunken eyes still staring at him as though he was god. He exhaled loudly and turned away from the ward, hastily exiting the gray hospital, never looking back.

He reached the house where he and the family that he had accumulated were staying rather quickly, as it was just minutes from his current workplace. His hands shook as he opened the door, stepping into the foyer.

He didn't bother taking off his shoes as he entered the living room, distress radiating of off him as Rosalie and Esme looked up at him.

Rosalie.

_Oh god, what have I done? _He asked himself. It had been twelve years since Rosalie was turned, and in those twelve years, she had never tasted human blood. He knew she craved it however, and he had brought it to her on a silver platter.

"Carlisle, what's wrong?" His wife, Esme asked, rising from her seat on the couch to move closer to him. Rosalie locked eyes with him and then lowered her gaze to the bundle in his arms when she gasped.

"Why is that here?" She asked, making Esme a bit confused. The older woman's eyes followed her adopted daughters until they rested on the baby's form. The woman with gold eyes and caramel-coloured hair sucked in a sharp breath and took a step back.

"What happened?" Esme asked again, jarring her husband from his own world. His throat was suddenly dry as he opened his mouth, wondering if it was possible to flee his home and return to the maternity ward as fast as possible without hurting the baby girl.

"Her… her mother died. It was typhus, she had delirium, she gave her to me." He said quietly as Esme's eyes widened. "I tried taking her to the maternity ward; in fact I was almost there. But something stopped me, something told me to take her home to you, to Rosalie." It was true, the thought of Rosalie taking this child as her own did cross his mind, as his 'daughter' was bitter about her inability to have an infant of her own.

"Let me see her." Rosalie said after a moment of dull silence. Carlisle crossed the room in a stride, hesitating to place the child in his daughter's arms. "I won't harm her, Carlisle, I promise." The blonde-haired woman said quietly as he finally lowered her into the woman's grasp.

She pulled away the dark fabric that hid the girl from the world, her mouth falling open at the sight of her. Yet another stab of guilt hit Carlisle in the stomach as he realized the dream of her raising this child was futile. Rosalie was as vain as they come, and this baby looked like a dirty skeleton, she would never want her.

_You're a fool Carlisle. _He said to himself as Rosalie tried to form words.

"Don't let your narcissism blind you Rosalie, she is not beautiful, but she is still just a baby." Carlisle told her and the vampire raised a hand, shushing him. Her eyes never left the child as she spoke to her father in a voice he had never heard her use before. It sounded confident, like she'd never been surer of something in her life and afterlife.

"No Carlisle, you're wrong. She's absolutely perfect."  
**  
A picture of my OC is in my profile**


	2. Chapter 2: The Angels Are Smiling

**_Chapter Two: The Angels Are Smiling_**

Emmett opened the oak door to his family's grey yet practical house with a sigh, his brother Edward close behind him as they trod into the dimly-lit foyer.

It had been quite the day at the run-down lumber mill where they were both employed, as the work was hard and the hours were long, but the pay was wonderful, as the amount of able men to do said work was lacking, and temporary homes had to be built for the survivors of the Holocaust.

He was surprised when Esme was there to greet him, as Rosalie was usually the one instantly fawning over him when he walked through the door while his adopted mother sat in the parlour, busying herself with her delicate embroidery.

This was not the case that dreary day; however, as there the vampire stood in front of them, a smile so strangely bright it was suspicious on her perfect lips. She looked happy, ecstatic almost, which was strange, as a tear never left her eyes since she was told of who Carlisle would be treating. She thought it so unfair that someone would have to see evil, torture and death in such numbers and a prayer for the souls who didn't survive was on her lips for their first few days of staying there.

"Welcome home, Emmet." She said, her smile brightening as he furrowed his brow, wondering what was going on. "Edward, did you two have a good day at work?" She asked to his adopted brother, who had observed how oddly elated she seemed to be.

"We had a fine day, Esme." He responded in a cautious voice, not really knowing what was going on with her.

"Would you care to tell me why you're acting as though something bad has happened?" Emmett asked out of the blue, not wanting her to play this bizarre game anymore and the smile fell from his mother's face. It was quickly replaced by a genuine smile, seconds later as the sound of a gurgling infant was heard.

"Actually, Emmett nothing bad has happened; on the contrary, something rather amazing too place this afternoon." This made Emmett suddenly very curious. He didn't think Carlisle would snap and change a baby just to satisfy his ailing wife's needs, but her depression had worsened and right now, it wasn't outside the realm of possibility.

He could tolerate Rosalie's pigheadedness, he could tolerate her shallow center and help her become more compassionate, but he had no idea that she could drive Carlisle that far.

Rage filled him and he pushed past Esme as gently as he could, rounding the corner to the living room, his mouth falling open is shock.

Sitting sideways in his favourite chair with her legs over the left arm rest and her back pressed against the right was his wife, holding a living, breathing, human baby wrapped in a white blanket in her ivory arms.

She lifted her golden head and settled her gaze on him as she smiled, looking down at the child again who was laughing as her blonde hair tickled her cheeks.

"C-could someone please tell me what's going on?" Emmett asked in a voice unlike his own and Rosalie's laugh filled the room. The door to the kitchen swung open and Carlisle exited, holding a glass bottle of milk at eye-level.

"I believe it's warm enough, Rose; then again, I could be wrong." Carlisle told her as he handed her the bottle. She lifted it and brought it to the child's mouth, who began to drink like she never had food before.

Carlisle turned and looked to Emmett who was still in shock at the sight of his wife calmly holding an infant with no desire to drink her blood present on her face. Emmett knew how much she wanted it, and in a way, he did too, but he didn't attack as his body so wanted him to, he held off and followed Carlisle from the room into the parlour, where Edward was already sitting opposite on Esme, his mouth set in a thin line.

"Take her back, Carlisle." Edward said in a dangerous voice and Carlisle exhaled.

"You and I know I can't do that. I made a promise-" Edward cut him off, making the doctor a bit angry.

"To a dying woman with typhus, Carlisle!" Edward exclaimed and Dr. Cullen sighed.

"A promise is a promise Edward, even to one who is dying; you know that better than anybody in this room." He stated and his first son's mouth snapped shut as Carlisle mentioned his mother.

"Explain. What's happened?" Emmett commanded and Esme reached across the coffee table, taking his chilled, muscular hand in her small, pale one.

"Carlisle promised to protect a woman's child before she died. He brought her home for Rosalie and it was love at first sight." Esme clarified and his gaze dropped to his knees, a troubled look etched onto his face.

"Is she happy?" He asked and Esme nodded. "Are both of them happy?" At this, Carlisle nodded, making Emmett sigh and lift his head. "Then we keep her." His decision was final and Edward looked as though he couldn't believe it. The technically younger man stood up, masked fury in his eyes as he turned and left the house, slamming the door behind him.

Emmett stood as his 'parents' did, looking to Esme who seemed disappointed.

"He'll come around." She reassured her 'son' who nodded and walked back into the living room.

Rosalie hadn't moved from her place on the chair, although it was obvious that she'd heard the argument.

There was a part of her that thirsted for the baby that she held in her arms blood, but the extreme feeling of peace and happiness that came over her when she had carefully given her a bath and found a new blanket for her heavily outweighed her hunger. It was as if she'd finally gotten what she'd wanted for as long as she could remember, and it was wonderful.

Emmett didn't know just what to think of the little girl. He felt a strange sort of attachment to it right away, and the elation that it brought to his wife, like he loved her because she did. He supressed his urge to pounce of the little being and drain the life from her as he approached, kneeling down beside Rosalie and getting a closer look.

The infant girl was terribly thin, and Rosalie had to try very hard to keep from accidentally harming her she was so light. A dull fuzz of dark hair had begun to grow on her head, and her dark eyes stared at everything like I was the most fascinating thing in the world. She couldn't have been any younger than six months, and the neglect she had been through was clear.

Malnutrition was obvious, and given her mother's previous whereabouts, it was hardly her fault. Carlisle had been sent to the small grocery store on the corner, returning with a bottle of milk as they had no food in the house. A saucepan was sued to heat it and the baby had chugged it in six seconds. She was on her third bottle when Emmett came home and the glass container with a little stopper now sat on the small table beside Rosalie.

"We shouldn't give her anymore." Carlisle told them when he re-entered the room, a faint smile igniting in his eyes when he saw the newest members of his family kneeling over the child like real, human newly weds who had just come home from the hospital. It would've been adorable if the hunger was not present in Emmett eyes. "It will make her sick." He explained to Rosalie who nodded, shifting around.

"We should try to get her to sleep. Emmett, could you hold her, I'm getting stiff." Rosalie asked her husband, turning her head to the side, a pleading look on her face. Emmett gave her a curt nod and she gently thrust the baby into his arms and stood up. He took her place, except he sat in the natural way, pulling the lever so the recliner tipped back.

He was rewarded with the sound of laughter, high and pure, from the baby's mouth, making him smile in spite of himself. His unnecessary breathing hitched when she stopped laughing and look him right in the eye, her little face lighting up in a smile of pure joy as she reached a thin, pale hand from beneath her blanket and fastened it onto one of the gold buttons on his white work shirt, still dotted here and there with sawdust.

It returned to normal when her eyes shut and her breathing evened out. The beating of her little heart was loud in his ears and it followed a steady rhythm as she fell into unconsciousness. Emmett felt a little piece of him melt when her hand stayed right where it was, the smile never leaving her face.

He turned to his wife, who was sitting on the settee close by, her hands folded in her lap as she watched the two interact.

"What's her name, Rose?" He asked her and she shrugged.

"I have no idea Em, we were waiting for you, we want you to pick." She told him and a feeling of pride swelled in the buff man's chest as he looked down to the baby girl again.

"Caroline maybe… no, she's special, she needs a special name…" He trailed off as his thoughts drifted to the far-off land of human memories that grew vaguer with each passing day.

A name stuck out to him, a name of special importance, but person who bore that name had faded from his mind. As he came back to the present time, he tried to remember who she was, but he couldn't recall.

"Devorah." He announced after a long pause and Rosalie looked up from the patterns in the rug. "Her name is Devorah Rose Cullen." He said, looking at his wife who nodded, the palest pink blush appearing on her perfect, porcelain features.

"Then it's settled." Esme said, walking over to the sleeping child with Carlisle following her.

"Welcome Devorah, to our family." The doctor told her. If anyone present in the room asked, her smile brightened when Carlisle said that, almost as if she heard him.

That night, Edward came home after hours of trying to hunt down something suitable. There were no forests nearby, and he had almost made it to Berlin before he found a bear to drain. He felt better when he smelled the baby girl's blood, more in control, but he still wanted Carlisle to take her back. Their lifestyle would frighten her, he knew it, and he couldn't get attached only to have her run screaming to higher power.

All thoughts of convincing his adopted father to take her to the maternity ward faded when he went into the living room. Nobody saw him at first as everyone seemed focused on the little girl held in Esme's lap while Emmett explained things to her.

"That's your Grandma Esme, Dev." He told her, making the baby giggle and try to reach for the woman's beautiful caramel curls. She looked to Carlisle who winked at her, making her scream with excitement.

"And that's Grandpa Carlisle." Rosalie said, making her clap her little hands together. Esme gave her back to Rosalie, who held the baby girl tightly as if she would vanish if she let her go again.

"And that's your Mummy, little Devorah." Emmett said, looking to his wife like she was his everything.

"And this… this is your Daddy." Rosalie leaned over and gave him a peck on the lips, making the infant squeal like she was disgusted.

"You'll meet your Uncle Edward later, when he calms down. You'll like him a lot, Dev, he's a good guy." Emmett said reassuringly as Rosalie looked up, her eyes widening.

"Or she could meet him now." She said in a surprised voice. She thought he would be gone a lot longer than he had been but now it was time to for her newly-found adopted daughter to meet the last member of the family.

"Edward, come meet your niece." Carlisle said in a gentle tone, nobody but Edward hearing the commanding undertones in his voice.

He shuffled forward, stiffening as Emmett placed the baby girl in his arms. It felt unnatural to him to have something so small and fragile just given to him, no if's, and's or but's at all, especially considering the fact that he'd only been blood-sober for fourteen years, putting him on par with his 'siblings'.

Edward looked down to the little girl and was a bit taken aback to see that she was watching him intently, like she was studying him and judging him instead of vice versa. He didn't know how to feel about this, he supposed that the child was just staring at him for the sake of staring at something and didn't fully believe that she was silently attempting to figure him out, but the thought didn't leave his mind.

"What is her name?" He asked, turning to Rosalie.

"Devorah Rose Cullen." She replied and he nodded, as if approving it.

_I'm glad you like it, Uncle Edward. _A voice in his brain spoke clearly, as if it was said out loud. His eyes scanned the room, looking for who said that, but nobody else took notice of this. He looked down to Dev who was still focused on him.

"What did you say?" He asked and a smile broke out on her face.

_Not a thing. _Was the response and he was sure it was from her.

A disbelieving smile crossed his face as he gave her back to Rosalie, who hugged her to her chest like she was a teddy bear. Amidst the thoughts of love from the other four members of his family, one stuck out to Edward the most.

_I love you Mummy. _


	3. Chapter 3: Beyond Heaven

**_Chapter Three: Beyond Heaven_**

Devorah never seemed to quiet down after she learned to talk at a year old. It was right on time, or at least, that's what the baby books that Esme bought said. Rosalie told her that they were unnecessary, but soon ate her words when she realized that none of them knew what they were doing.

Esme was the only one who had a certain degree of experience, and even still, she had a child for two days, and in those two days, she saw him once when they let her see his tiny corpse.

Rosalie had caved when they almost burned the house down when trying to introduce her to solid food. Emmett thought that the baby food they bought at the store had to be cooked on the stove and he'd set the temperature far too high. When Esme saw the damage done to her kitchen, she readied her Cadillac and had Carlisle drive her to the book store in town immediately.

The Cullen's moved back to America after six months of being in Germany, it pained Rosalie to take her child from her homeland, but it had to be done. Every day, survivors were brought from all over Europe, some carrying new and deadly diseases. They were lucky, Devorah had caught none of them, but they packed their belongings when a colleague of Dr. Cullen's was diagnosed with bubonic plague… three days after he infected and killed his wife and children.

The journey over the ocean was horrendous for Devorah, whose sharp cheekbones had begun to round out and begun to look the way a healthy baby should. She was sick for the entity of the three-week endeavour, with most of it spent vomiting and screaming while contained in Rosalie and Emmett's first-class room. Being vampires, the rest of the family did not get ill, and had to listen to their newest edition while she suffered.

This was especially hard for Carlisle, as he grew very much attached to his first 'granddaughter', even going as far as to sacrifice his hunting time when she refused to go to sleep when they made port in Canada. This didn't happen very often, as there was only one stop but only Edward knew how much she enjoyed it when it did.

Devorah loved her adopted grandfather just as much as he loved her, and she loved listening to the sound of his voice. He'd talk about anything when he was with her, his early life, the stories he remembered, the people he'd met, the list was endless. He knew that it helped her to have someone to listen to and learn from, and her cries seemed less bloodcurdling when he was rocking her in his chair and telling her about fascinating things.

The trip had ended faster than expected, but no one in the family was complaining as they disembarked from the ship, all of the vampires steady as rocks.

They found a house in Alaska, where the sun shone as often as Christmas. In a word, it was Heaven, but for Rosalie and Emmett, to have a life after a life with a child of their own was beyond Heaven.

The couple was given their own home, right beside the home of their families. Rosalie found her libido waning as she cared for her Devorah and Emmett didn't seem to mind. Dev was a Daddies girl, and she soon had the buff, grisly-like man wrapped around her little finger. A look was all it would take to have him rush out and get whatever she needed, which never happened very often, but a certain china doll in a toy shop window did catch her eye once.

But as much as Dev loved her Daddy, nothing could replace her Mummy. She thought of her as an angel, frozen in time and spared from the cruel hand of age. The way her golden hair would shine in the frozen light through the large windows when Emmett would sweep her off the couch and waltz with her to imaginary music fuelled these thoughts, and there was none save the rest of her adopted family that Devorah cherished more.

On her first birthday, before a cake and presents, Devorah spoke her first words.

The room was decked out in pink, as it was her favourite colour. The balloons and gift wrap and table cloth were all pink. The dress that Esme had picked for her was pink and the ribbons in her darkening hair were pink, and the candles in her chocolate cake were pink and lit as she blew them out.

"Make a wish, Dev." Carlisle told her and she nodded, pausing to think. She opened her mouth and Rosalie shook her head.

"No, dove, don't tell us, or it won't come true." The blonde explained and Devorah nodded again.

She went back to thinking what her wish would be again when she suddenly turned to Edward, her mouth set in a firm line.

"Don't cheat." She said in a musical voice filled with determination. After Edward promised he wouldn't look, she made her wish.

Emmett almost choked on the glass of milk he knew he would have to vomit up later when she spoke for the first time, a grin spread on Esme's face while Carlisle gave her a proud smile. Rosalie… well, Rosalie flew into action.

The vampire had saved a notebook where she would write down all the developments that Devorah made. Her first smile as a member of her family with the date was in that book, along with a lock from her first haircut and the date of the first time she walked and how many steps she took.

She ran as fast as she could to her bedroom, where the notebook was sitting on the bedside table and she grabbed it, zipping back down to the dining room. A frantic scribble later, and Devorah's first words and the date joined the other information.

It was unknown what Devorah's actual birth date was, as the family was only guessing when they said she was six months, so they decided to go by the day that Carlisle brought her home; September 4th, 1945.

Devorah was no stranger to her family's lifestyle, in fact, she knew from the beginning that they were different, and that she was not one of them… not yet anyway, and it didn't seem to bother her. She never voiced it if she felt uncomfortable about the way they lived, with the obvious exception of loudly complaining about Emmett's cooking skills, which were severely underdeveloped.

It was the dawn of a new year when Jasper and Alice found the Cullen's, who were living in Twin Peaks, and a new world for Dev opened up.

There was a knock on the door of their home at seven o'clock at night sharp. Emmett was reading Devorah a story, who wanted nothing more than to turn on their new TV while Dr. Cullen was engrossed in an apparently fascinating book on the structure of cells in the human body.

Rosalie was the one who answered the door, closely followed by Emmett and Esme.

"Hello." Said a voice that made Dev lift her head and look to the open door. Standing just outside in the pouring rain was a young woman with amber eyes, her medium-brown hair cut to her shoulders, and a man standing behind her. He had light, almost golden hair, with eyes the colour the same colour as the woman's, only tinted with a bloody red. "I'm Alice. This is Jasper, and we've been waiting to find you."

Carlisle stood at that and told Dev to stay back as he neared the door, stepping in front of Rosalie while motioning for Edward to sit down next to the human.

"Why are you here?" The blonde doctor asked and the pixie-like woman smiled brightly at him, barley containing her excitement.

"I have premonitions, I saw I would find you, and here I am!" She chirped happily and Carlisle didn't seem convinced.

"Emmett, stay with dove. Edward, come here." His two sons complied, switching places as Emmett sat down on the rug beside Dev and Edward joined Carlisle at the head of the group.

Alice held her hand out, as if she was expecting him to tell her to do so and it surprised the family, making its patriarch wonder if the strange woman with eyes like theirs was telling the truth.

Edward's icy hand made contact with the girl's while Dev watched closely, wondering what was going on. In a flash, it was over and the woman smiled brightly at the family while Edward nodded.

"She'd telling the truth, Carlisle." He told his adopted father, who nodded. He motioned for them to come in out of the rain, but the both of them stopped dead when they saw Dev, whose eyes never left Jasper's. He inhaled as he stepped into the foyer, catching a whiff of something he'd been trying to avoid for the last two years; human blood.

"You kidnapped a child?!" The blonde-haired man exclaimed, his eyes widening as he tried to hold his breath. Alice stepped in front of him, blocking his vision and making him look at her.

"Jazz, Jazz…. Listen to me, it's not what you think, just calm down, okay?" She said to him, her voice calm and even while the rest of the Cullen's had long-since taken a defensive stance around their newest family member.

"She isn't kidnapped, we adopted her." Rosalie said in a dangerous voice as Alice led him from the house, back outside to their car. She opened the door and shoved him in, locking it behind him while he calmed down. She turned and skipped back inside, looking slightly happy with herself that she'd got him under control.

"I'm so very sorry about that, I didn't see that you'd have… others. But he is trying; it's just so hard for him." She stepped over the welcome mat and wiped her feet, confidently striding over to Dev.

Emmett stiffened as the strange woman knelt down beside his daughter but was calmed when Carlisle placed a hand on his shoulder, letting him know she wouldn't hurt her.

Dev instantly liked this odd lady, with similar eyes to her Mummy and funny hair, she liked the way she smelled too, almost like chocolate and roses, it made Dev feel happy.

"Hello dove." The woman said with a bright smile. "I'm your Aunt Alice."

Devorah's Aunt Alice ended up moving in with her recent husband; Uncle Jasper, and the pixie-like woman dominated poor Edward's room at the first chance she got.

Uncle Jasper wouldn't go anywhere near Dev for the first little while, although her Mummy and Daddy assured her that he liked her all the same and as time wore on, Jasper saw the little girl as a personal challenge. He liked to think that if he could resist her, he could resist anyone, which was a comforting thought to the Cullen's.

Alice became an important asset in deciding when to move on, as she could foresee just how the weather would end up. As it turned out, it was unusually sunny for their town of Twin Peaks that summer, uprooting the family from their home and sending them off to distant Alaska, where they could spend the months in seclusion.

The Denali coven, who were long-time friends of Carlisle were frightened of Devorah at first, sure of the fact that she was an immortal child from a distance. Dev was just as scared of them and stayed far away, fuelling their fear as long as possible.

When she was finally brought forward, her mouth shut tight, her face going paler as she met the strangers, Irina, one of the sister's spoke.

"She can't be immortal, she is too ugly. Immortal children are said to be angels." She said and Dev's eyes narrowed. She instantly disliked this woman and the prideful air around her.

"She is beautiful, Irina." Rosalie said in an icy voice that made Dev shudder a little bit.

"But of course she is, sister, don't be rude, she is a Cullen, she is family." Replied Tanya, the designated leader of the group. She smiled sweetly at Dev, who noticed that she did so with her mouth, not her eyes. Tanya's eyes were fixed on Edward, who shifted uncomfortably, well aware of her gaze although he kept his firmly on the house behind them.

The Cullen's moved on when Tanya, who was mate-less, began to pursue Edward, even after he'd made it clear that he didn't think of her in that way. She reminded Devorah of a disease that never fully goes away, such as polio. Despite this flaw, Dev still found her likable, as her playfulness rivalled her Daddy's, which made playing dolls very interesting.

Irina was cold to Devorah, in more ways than one, and the little girl was sure that she wanted nothing more than to snap her neck when she went to sleep. She would constantly watch the child, sometimes going as far as to follow her when she was outside playing, but she never said a word to her after their first meeting.

Kate was… Kate, a simple, laid-back and complex woman who Dev liked to sit and watch. The lady could brood for an hour straight, and her favourite blizzard pass-time was to claim a seat directly in front of her and stare at her, timing her to see if she broke her record.

But the two that Devorah grew to admire the most was Eleazar and Carmen. The European vampires were lovely to her, especially the female one, and they were the ones that taught her to read.

Eleazar had a study that could've doubled as a public library if it wanted to, and it was there that Devorah would lie flat on the carpet and attempt to sound out words. In the beginning, Carmen taught her the alphabet, using simple objects to help the little girl remember.

"A is for apple dove, B is for bone, C is for cat and D is for dog. Do you understand?" Dev nodded and repeated what the vampire had said to make sure she knew it before they moved on. Progress was slow at first, but Devorah managed to learn her alphabet at the age of five and a half, giving her an advantage for when school would start next year. Eleazar took the reins from there and taught her simple phrases, like cat, hat, mat and so on, which came to her much quicker than the alphabet.

On the first day of school, Devorah walked out the door to Carmen's car with her lunch bag and backpack, ready for a new challenge. Just before she left, she gave her Mummy, Daddy , Aunt's and Uncle's a kiss on their frozen faces and gave each one a note, instructing them not to open it until she told them to.

_Uncle Edward. _She thought and the man looked to her just before she got in the car. _Don't you dare break your promise. _She hopped into the car after Carmen, giving her favourite Uncle one last smile as they drove away, preparing herself for the adventure of her life.


	4. Chapter 4: The Vampire Princes

**_Chapter Four: The Vampire Princes_**

Devorah was completely and utterly friendless for most of the first grade year. She sat by herself when it was time for lunch and read books alone on the front steps of the school at recess, nobody, not even the teachers wanted to be around her; she was supposedly a Jew, and Hitler's reign was rumoured to be far from over.

Whispers of weapons of mass destruction –atomic bombs and the like- being made in large numbers by the Nazi's had begun to surface not long after the family left the Denali coven for Oregon and while Emmett and Rosalie tried their best to comfort their daughter, telling her that such rumours were false, both the little girl and her parents were very afraid of what would happen if the Third Reich were to gain power once more.

At school, most were frightened of her and what would happen to them if they affiliated with her, while some made it their goal to make her life as close to hell as possible. A group of boys; Friedrich, Georg, Henri and Julian would often call her names or make fun of her adopted status, but this hardly bothered Dev, at least not in front of them.

At home, Devorah could cry freely and cry she did, usually in Emmett's arms while Rosalie threatened to hunt the boys down and kill them one by one. Alice knew she was serious and it was a rotating task among the adult vampires to calm her enough to think rationally. Talking to the principal was not an option, as the Cullen's wished to draw as little attention to themselves as possible during their stay, considering that leaving behind stories and ideas about their true nature was dangerous and Dev was completely sure that the teasing would get worse if they told the school about it.

"Am I filth, Uncle Jasper?" She asked one day while the family was out hunting when she was eight. He had offered of his own free will, without any coaxing on Esme or Alice's part, which made Dev proud that he wanted to spend time around her. He had been silent for most of the evening, saying nothing as she practiced her button sewing, cursing softly when she pricked her finger, making him smile, but when she asked this, his gaze snapped to her and his eyebrows flew up his forehead.

"Who told you this?" He asked anger in his voice. The rhythmic clacking of needle against thimble stopped as she put her hands in her lap, her eyes cast downward.

"The boys at school, Henri, I think." She replied softly, getting a bit frightened as he tensed. He noticed her fear and tried his best to relax; he may not say much to his niece, but his protectiveness of her rivalled her mother's and he showed his affection by making anyone who hurt Dev regret it.

"Whatever this Henri says is a lie, the same goes for Julian, Georg and Friedrich. Do you understand?" She nodded and he sighed. "Good Devorah, I need you to know this because you are not and will never be filth, you're a gift to this family and I thank your Mother every day that she was smart enough to trust Carlisle."

"Thank you Uncle Jasper, but still…" She trialed off, looking to her lap and exhaling.

"But still what, honey bee?" He asked and she shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't like it here, Uncle Jasper; it's very scary to go to school. I'd never tell Mummy or Daddy as they'd just get mad, but it's true." She whispered quietly, her eyes filling with tears. She wiped them away and went back to her sewing as Jasper said nothing more.

The very next week, the family moved yet again, going to their home in Forks where Dev was much, much happier. Even still, she was a shy girl, but nobody seemed to take sides in Forks as it was such a small town and nobody gave her any trouble. She remained without friends however, for her own personal reasons.

Devorah learned to grow a thick skin by being exposed to the bullies she had to deal with, and also figured out that school was as place to learn and not a 'social escapade' as her Grandmother Esme called it. Her family wasn't worried in the least about her further lack of contact with other children who were her age; in fact they were almost proud of how independent she was. Dev liked things to be just so, and she much preferred the fictional characters in her story books to real people, at least fictional characters were consistent.

As she grew, Dev became fascinated with tales of the Volturi, an ancient vampire coven that Carlisle stayed with. She loved hearing about Aro, whose sanity was teetering on the edge of a high cliff. Carlisle would tell her about his wife, Sulpicia that he locked away in a tower forever, never to leave. She would get frightened by such things and much preferred the stories of Marcus.

Marcus Volturi was a vampire who fell deeply in love with Didyme, Aro's sister who could radiate happiness. Just as the two made plans to leave the coven so they could be together, Didyme was murdered and poor Marcus left with eternity to grieve.

But the ones that she enjoyed the most were not of the maniacal Aro, or even of the suicidal Marcus. No, Devorah would always choose a fable about the hate-filled, malicious Caius, the youngest of the Volturi who saw humans as scum. She didn't know why she enjoyed hearing stories about him, but she did. She felt drawn to him and had an unquenchable thirst to know more about him.

Perhaps her fascination stemmed from her want to find out how someone could be so heartless and while Carlisle didn't approve of her doing her own research, he gave her space to grow and learn on her own.

The vampire did not like the way she was so fascinated by the coven, even after she knew how corrupt and vile they were. Actually, that only seemed to further her curiosity.

One day in Seattle, when Devorah just turned eleven years old, she took her place in front of Carlisle for her story. He sighed when he saw her smiling at him, certain that she'd want him to talk about the coven that he'd tried very hard to forget, but he couldn't ignore her.

"So, what story do you want tonight?" He asked casually, upset that he'd have to talk more about Caius, but in the back of his mind, he was glad that she wasn't sitting in front of their TV, rotting her brains out.

"Tell me about the Vampire Princes… tell me about the Romanian coven!" This caught the elderly vampires off guard, as he'd expected to have to recite the bitter love story of Marcus and Didyme for the hundredth time and although he'd never tell her, he much preferred this.

"You want to hear about Vladimir and Stephan, because them I know." Carlisle asked and she nodded quickly, shifting eagerly like she was five again. "Very well then, from the beginning I take it?" He sat down in his chair as she nodded again, completely engrossed by now.

"How did you meet them Granddad?" She asked, her dark eyes bright, ringed with heavy bags that never seemed to go away no matter how much sleep she got, making her look like a curious racoon.

"I first met them in 1775. It had been around fifty years since my departure from the Volturi and I was studying in Romania when whispers of a great darkness began to grow in the villages. All searches lead to the Hoia-Baciu forest, where nobody dared to go. Suspecting vampires, I went in by myself and it is there that I found Stephen and Vladimir." He said and Dev's eyes sparkled.

She had been digging in Carlisle's library when she found a book on vampire history. It spoke of a coven from ancient times that had a rule as mighty as Alexander the Great's, whose leaders sat upon thrones made of obsidian and rubies, and whose prey was brought to them. Their founding members were Vladimir the Cruel with his wife and mate Daciana the Cunning as well as his good friend Stephan the Wicked and his mate Cosmina the Entrancing. They were seen as vampire royalty a long time ago when vampires didn't have to hide who they were, giving the two the tile; The Vampire Princes.

The history ended there unfortunately, with the rest of the book being dominated by the Volturi and as much as Dev liked reading about their interesting way of life, she wanted to know more about the mysterious Romanians and who better to go to then her Granddad?

"Why were they in the forest Grandpa?" She asked as he thought for a moment.

"After the Volturi took over their coven and claimed their power, the two surviving members; Vladimir and Stephan went on the run, plotting the downfall of their enemies that took everything from them." He replied and Dev's eyes widened.

"What happened to their mates?" She asked, shifting closer as he exhaled, a sad look passing over his face.

"Cosmina was killed by Alec and later, Daciana by Jane, two of the most powerful vampires in the world." Devorah gasped when she heard this, instantly saddened by the information.

"That's horrible, they must feel awful!" She exclaimed and the doctor nodded.

"Vampires only mate once, dove, they don't grieve as humans do, it stretches on and on for thousands of years and with no chance to end it." Carlisle said and Dev frowned.

"Will you ever change me? Will I ever find my mate?" She questioned and Carlisle looked to the ground. He had been dreading this for some time, but it came quicker than he had hoped.

"I don't know if I'll change you, maybe when the time comes, and regardless of whether we do make you one of us, you'll find your mate, and it will be easier than expected, you are very lovable." Dev blushed and shook her head.

"No I'm not, and even if I was, I'm not pretty enough for anybody to give me a second glance." Carlisle shook his head as if the notion was preposterous and get down on the floor, sitting parallel to her. He took her small, bony hands in his pale, cold ones and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"You possess a rare kind of beauty, dove, nobody can deny that. You'll mature with age, but your soul will stay the same, clean and pure and lovelier than anything." Again Devorah blushed and pulled her grandfather into a tight hug, giving him a kiss on his frozen cheek.

"Thank you Granddad, I love you very much." He hugged her back, but not as tightly as he could for fear of breaking her rake-thin form in half. Devorah never did have much of an appetite for human food, and her body suffered for it; her collarbone stuck out like the skin overtop was stretched to its capacity, her joints were very boney and her chest was as flat as a girl much younger than her. Still, Rosalie didn't pressure her to eat, knowing that she'd hit the age where she'd do nothing but in a few years and was content to make sure she ate enough to survive and keep her from looking completely like a skeleton.

"I love you too, my little dove" Carlisle began, looking over his shoulder to the door of his study, smiling when saw Rosalie standing there, ready to scold Dev for not getting to bed on time. "But it's time for you to go to sleep." Devorah turned around too, groaning when she saw her Mummy standing there. She trudged to the door and gave Rosalie a hug and kiss before stalking off to the other parts of the house to say goodnight to her family members.

"You really shouldn't encourage all these stories, Carlisle, it isn't healthy." Rosalie started as Carlisle stood up and walked behind his cluttered, mahogany desk.

"I know, but I do love to see her smile." He said, looking at the door as Rosalie nodded in agreement.

"So do I, but I don't approve of you telling her about the other covens, especially those horrible Romanians!" She exclaimed and Carlisle gave her a soft smile.

"I see no harm in feeding her imagination, Kitty, it's better than the TV." Rosalie shuddered as she thought of the idiot box that Emmett insisted on getting that now sat in their living room.

"I see your point, carry on." She told him, making a soft laugh escpae his throat as she turned and left the room.

When she was gone, Carlisle stood and walked over to his bookcase where he extracted a book from the top shelf. He brushed over the cover and grinned at the silver lettering that spelled out _The Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe. _His smile brightened as he thought of reading some of the poems to Dev, knowing how much she'd enjoy them.

"I have no intention of stopping, Rose."


	5. Chapter 5: A Change in Me

**_Chapter Five: A Change in Me_**

Edgar Allen Poe quickly became Devorah's favourite author but was knocked to second place by Harper Lee after _To Kill a Mocking Bird _was published. Even still, Dev kept a little book of his poems and short stories that Aunt Alice gave to her for her fifteenth birthday with her at all times if she ever needed something to read or felt alone.

At the age of fifteen, Devorah began to go through changes outside of the normal puberty. Yes, she got her period and Rosalie made poor Emmett go with Edward to the drug store to get the necessary toiletries as none were present in the house with vampire's lack of menstrual cycle. But after that, different changes began to take place; both physically and mentally.

Devorah's hair became so dark that it was nearly black, and her eyes lightened to a coca brown, which in all honesty, was rather odd. Her hips rounded out and became less sharp, which was to be expected and she suddenly had the strongest urge to eat a lot more than she had before her fifteenth birthday; thusly building up just enough body fat to hide her ribcage and spine.

In addition to her change in appearance, Dev began to experience nightmares. She described them to her parents and family as imageless, with only noises and smells to rely on as she claimed she was taken through her own version of life before she came to live with the Cullen's.

She said the world was pitch black during her nightmares, but the sound of mothers, fathers screaming as their babies were tossed into the crematorium could be clearly heard. The unmistakable stench of burning flesh was what was in the air and the foul smoke from the fires of hell that burned in the death camps filled her lungs; choking her in her sleep. She would thrash as if someone was holding her down and she told Rosalie that it felt as though someone was restraining her and she physically could not move.

Carlisle had no theories as to why this was happening to her, not at all, and while he assured her that they were just dreams and couldn't hurt her, she would try her best to stay awake, a mug of coffee beside her as she would have Alice sing to her in a ridiculously high octave.

Rosalie was worried for her daughter as the bags beneath her eyes grew more prominent, turning her from racoon-like to ghoul. Her pale face became even more chalky, like her dreams were aging her in the span of hours instead of years, while her hair lost its luster and her eyes grew red from lack of sleep.

During her nightmares, although no one else could be certain, it was said that everything in the room shook like an earthquake, the first evidence of this being proven when she fell asleep in the living room with her head in Emmett's lap. The TV was the first to violently shake like someone invisible was rocking it back and forth. Next was the sofa and from there, it spread across the room while Devorah thrashed about like a fish out of water. It was months before she got a suitable night of sleep and the dreams mysteriously stopped, it was quite strange, but nobody had any other explanations except for 'it was a phase'.

Two months after her seventeenth birthday, she sat outside, watching her family play baseball during a storm as the sight always fascinated her when something unforeseeable happened.

"YOU'RE OUT AUNT ALICE!" Dev shouted loudly across the field to the pixie-woman who pouted and stalked off the field after Esme had caught the ball and tagged her. Devorah tugged her baseball cap with a C emblem on the front further down her face as the rain began to pound in sheets against the grass as the game wore on. She assured her family that she was fine as the wind blew in her face, accidentally de-lodging the gray scarf with a brooch with the Cullen family crest off of her neck.

The gust of wind was so strong that the light piece of silk blew deep into the forest. Knowing that she couldn't lose the piece that identified her as a Cullen, she hopped of the fallen, rotting log where she was sitting and sped off into the trees. The game was in full swing and no one noticed as their dove vanished into the undergrowth.

Twigs snapped in her face as she looked for her scarf, branches cracking under her feet as she raced through the piles of dead, fallen leaves, her eyes darting everywhere as she looked for her fourteenth birthday present from her Mummy and Daddy.

"This makes you one of us, dove, wear it with pride." Her Daddies voice rung in her ears as she picked up speed, ducking down every now and then to examine the inside of hollow logs. Every once in a while, she'd cast a glance upward to see if it had been snared in a tree, all the while going oblivious to the sounds of impossibly fast footsteps stalking her.

Her breathing was ragged and her heart pumped blood through her veins as she searched the forest, allowing a few tears to fall at the thought of going home empty-handed. Her tears turned to sobs as she sank down on the ground, realizing it was hopeless.

She heard a cracking sound to her left as she put her face in her hands and turned to look as a flash of black disappeared. To her left and high above her, a voice spoke.

"Why does the little girl weep?" A man with a Romanian accent asked and she craned her neck, looking to the branch of a tall tree where a man with pale blonde hair and glowing red eyes sat. She instantly felt cold fear flood through her body as her heart rate increased.

"I hear her heartbeat brother, she is frightened." Another voice said, also distinctly Romanian as its owner emerged from her left with perfectly gelled black hair, with chalky, pale skin and clear, bloody-red eyes.

"Fear makes the taste sweeter dear Stephan, you know that." The other man replied, jumping down from his perch as Devorah stood up and tried to back away. The man with black hair named Stephan laughed throatily and zipped behind her so she bumped into him. She spun around as her breathing grew ragged and he caught her wrists in his crushing grip.

"MUMMY, DADDY HELP!" She screamed, her voice being carried away by the wind as the man with blonde hair came up behind her, laughing with his 'brother'.

"You can't get away little girl, but do try, it is more fun when there is a fight." Suddenly, Stephan released her, giving her a chance to turn and run as fast as she could with what energy she had left. She heard them behind her as they chased her through the forest, teasing her as a cat does to a mouse before snapping its neck and eating its fill.

The images of that in her mind gave her the fuel to run faster as she tore out of the forest and into the clearing. "MUMMY, DADDY, ALICE!" The family turned their heads to their human family member and their mouths dropped open in shock as they caught sight of Vladimir and Stephan chasing their little girl.

They were frozen for a fraction of a second, but in that fraction, the vampire Devorah had secretly sympathized with jumped and pinned her to the ground, sinking his fangs into her neck. Emmett was there in a second, throwing the man off of her into a tree as Jasper lifted the other high off the ground by his collar.

Devorah screamed with everything she had in her as the venom spread through her veins, burning a fiery trail through her whole body. She tilted her head back and screamed again as Emmett let out a growl of anger and proceeded to shove Vladimir into a tree again and again, never having it in him to finish him off.

Esme and Carlisle fell on their knees beside their not-so-little granddaughter who had begun to shake like the last leaf in fall. Rosalie, whose face was a tear-stained mess pushed her mother out of the way and fell on her daughter's chest, fresh sobs ripping from her throat.

She looked to Carlisle who shook his head. "The venom is spreading too fast, I can't stop it, I could cause her more harm than good." He explained; his voice frantic as Rosalie's grief turned to anger.

"But she's not ready, Carlisle!" She exclaimed and the doctor nodded, acknowledging it to be true. He looked down to Dev and grabbed hold of her hand.

"Squeeze if it hurts, dove." He said in a rushed voice and the sound of cracking vampire skin was heard throughout the forest as Dev crushed his hand from the pain. Behind him, the sound of a body being slammed on the ground was heard as Esme raced over to her son, who was beating on Vladimir like he owed him money while Alice kept Jasper from choking Stephan.

"Explain yourself!" Edward shouted to the two vampires who were on the almost-frozen ground, too afraid to get up. Stephan spoke first.

"The girl was in the woods, we smelled her blood and we were thirsty, it is not our fault!" He protested as Edward lunged at him, making the old vampire flinch in fear.

"This is our territory, we have claimed it!" Alice shouted in a voice that was surprisingly serious and rage-filled.

"We did not know this!" Vladimir shouted at her as she took a defensive stance.

"Then why are you here?!" Jasper asked in a deadly voice, to which he got no instant reply, making his rage begin to bubble over again. "ANSWER ME!"

"The… the Volturi, they sent representatives after us, they thought we were becoming a threat. We ran, we don't know for how long but we did, we couldn't be caught! Not by the Witch Twins!" Their excuses did not sit well with Emmett.

"You tried to kill my daughter!" He picked up Stephan by the collar and threw him against a tree this time while Alice twisted Vladimir's arm behind his back. Neither bothered to fight, as they had learned long ago just what value special abilities could have in the heat of battle.

"We have to get her to the house." Carlisle announced, lifting Devorah into Edward's arms. "You take her, you're the fastest. We'll follow." Edward nodded and took off like a gun shot.

Dev squirmed in his arms while he ran, putting him off a little bit, but he managed to regain his composure and reach the house in record time, bursting through the doors and setting her down on the wooden kitchen table. Her breathing was shallow as he dipped his head down, cleaning the wound and sealing it up; knowing it would break Rosalie's heart if she died of blood loss.

She threw her head against the side of the table when he sat down and tried to mumble out some words, but all that gave out was an unintelligible groan and more screams of agony. Edward didn't offer to hold her hand; as he saw what happened to Carlisle, but he did pet her dark head as tears and sobs and shrieks pierced the dining room.

Three hours later, the rest of the family joined their little misery party.

"Where's the Dracula's?" Edward asked and Carlisle shook his head.

"We let them go, it seemed as though they meant no serious harm." He told him and the ex-vigilante clenched his jaw as rage bubbled up in Alice's eyes.

"No harm, Carlisle? I thought we had a few more years before this!" She exclaimed as she sat down beside the still-shaking young woman.

"We all did Alice." Jasper told her solemnly as he took his spot beside her, giving her a shoulder to cry on.

"I suppose all we can do is wait." Esme said, sitting down on one of the chairs as well while Rosalie and Emmett never moved.

They kept their eyes on their little girl, wishing they hadn't decided to play baseball today, wishing they'd never left Oregon, wishing that they'd never adopted her and doomed her to this kind of life. Rosalie didn't even shed a tear as she watched her, waiting for the moment when Devorah's eyes would open again; only this time they'd be red.


	6. Chapter 6: The Evil One

**_Chapter Six: The Evil One_**

Pain was everything, it was everyone and it was everywhere. The voices Devorah heard around her were a static, buzzing, hot pain, and when she tried to speak, her own screams cut her off. She didn't know what was real or what wasn't, the noises of buzzing bees were probably fake, but when she opened her eyes the smallest bit to check, all she saw was blinding red light that hadher closing her eyes again instantly.

She felt someone holding her hand and she squeezed it so tight that another crack filled the air and the sound of cursing flooded into her ears. She wanted to say sorry to the person she hurt, but her head was pounding and her heart rate was going so fast that she soon forgot her apology and allowed herself to be sucked back into her own, personal hell.

This was not like the hell the bullies made for her, no, the chinks of dirt they'd thrown at her and names they'd called her stung at the time, but they faded. This… this was endless and with each layer of skin the pain penetrated, each red blood cell it infected, the burning and heat increased.

Her voice had long since gone raw, but still she screamed like it was the only thing that would save her from the fire. On the inside, the venom passed throwing her veins leaving a poisonous trail as it pumped to her heart with no sign of slowing down. Her life as a mortal was fading, and an evil change that she'd secretly wanted since birth was taking place.

If she wasn't literally dying of agony, Devorah would've laughed in joy. Being a vampire was like the unspoken secret to life. Immortality and an eternity with her loved ones? Devorah had been deprived of the woman who meant quite a bit to her before she could even remember her face; it felt amazing to know that the same wouldn't follow with Rosalie.

Her family sat around her, beyond terrified about what would happen when their dove woke up, all of them wishing that they'd told her to be more careful in the woods. Alice was whispering about how it was all her fault was Jasper stroked her hair and told her it wasn't so while Rosalie stared at the wall, her hands clenched around the armrests of her chair, her freshly-painted nails digging into the leather. Carlisle pinched his the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger with one hand while holding Esme's shaking one in the other, half-heartedly telling her that everything would be alright.

Emmett almost ripped Vladimir apart and was tempted to do so; threatening the elderly vampire many times at the edge of the clearing while his father; Carlisle was ever the voice of reason.

"Leave." Dr. Cullen told them in an angry, alien voice and the duo eagerly complied, never apologizing for their horrible mistake but turning speeding off as fast as they could run, not looking back. Jasper, whose face was set into a stony glare as he watched them flee, wanted to go after Vladimir and Stephan and for the first time, Carlisle agreed whole-heartedly. Emmett managed to get his anger under control long enough to convince them to go back to the house to check on Dev, where shortly afterwards Carlisle came to his senses and apologized to his son for acting out in such a way.

"How much longer does she have?" Edward asked, shifting in his seat and Esme sighed, looking to the ancient grandfather clock that Rosalie gave her for a mother's day present.

"Just a half an hour left." she replied curtly, drumming her nails and casting a worried look to her granddaughter's shaking form.

"I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, I hoped that you could've changed her dad." Emmett said somberly and Carlisle nodded, exhaling loudly.

"It's better this way, she's out of danger." He replied as Rosalie shook her head, a look of self-loathing in her darkening eyes.

"She's going to hate me." she whispered quietly, her grim, stony façade fading as Edward pulled her into a comforting hug.

"She idolizes you, Rose! She could never hate you!" Edward exclaimed as Rosalie went completely still again.

In the last five minutes, Devorah's pain was thrown into maximum overdrive and everything in the room began to shake again like she was having another one of her long-forgotten nightmares.

She jolted in her sleep when the fiery venom reached its goal and her lively, beating heart stopped once and for all. Her face turned from and ashy gray contorted in pain to a pale, ivory tone and her expression relaxed to one of absolute calm. Her hair darkened further until it was like the ash in a fireplace as her face rounded out again and her flat chest was pushed forward a few inches.

Her eyes fluttered open slowly and she sat straight up with such a force that she almost threw herself into the door on the far wall. Her head snapped to her Mummy, who watched her closely, a smile that she didn't know was there creeping onto her face.

Dev smiled back and walked over to her, losing control in her excitement and tearing across the room, knocking over Rosalie in a bone-crushing hug. Tears she didn't know she'd shed poured out of Rosalie's eyes as she looked at her beautiful daughter.

The dark circles were still there, and her cheekbones were still high and prominent, but her hair didn't have the appearance of black, scraggly wire any longer. It fell in soft waves around her shoulders and her face and body didn't have that starved look anymore. Her new red eyes were darting everywhere, taking in everything that there was to see with her heightened, vampire vision.

"Dove?" she turned at hearing her name and immediately hug-tackled her bear-like Daddy, slamming him into the ground and squeezing the heck out of him while he held onto her like he hadn't seen her in years. After several, similar greetings to the rest of her family, Dev stood in front of them, feeling happier than she thought she ever possibly could.

"You like the new you?" Her Aunt Alice asked carefully and Dev nodded, giving her aunt another, much less painful hug and a bright smile, showing off her white teeth.

"I love the new me Aunt Alice." she replied positively as her Aunt smiled back so wide it could've cracked her porcelain face.

"Were all happy for you, dove but..." Carlisle trailed awkwardly off and grinned. "You look like you need something to eat." Dev's grin matched his as he took her by the hand and led her outside into the frigid air, her whole family close behind her.

"Okay dovey, the thing is, you start off with a gentle run, not to fast or you'll startle the animals. It's winter, so there won't be too many but maybe we can find something for you." She did what her Daddy told her to and started off with a slow sprint. In no time, she caught sight of a deer prancing around in the snow.

It was so adorable, and so very cute-looking, but Devorah's stomach rumbled as she swallowed her conscious and ran at it at top speed. She growled as it turned at the very last second and pranced off into the forest. Not thinking twice, she sped off after it; her Mummy and Uncle Edward following after her.

"Don't worry if you don't get it Dev." Uncle Edward reassured her and she shook her head, brushing her loose, black curls out of her face as she picked up speed.

"I have to get it!" She called back over her shoulder to him as she jumped over a fallen log and raced onward.

She failed to notice the rather large root sticking out of the ground as she kept her eyes solely on the prancing for of her prey and cursed loudly as her foot snagged in the loop and sent her spiralling to the ground. She hit the dirt with a thud, snow flying everywhere as her arms shot out in front of her to catch herself. She picked herself up, brushing the snow off her shirt and looked to see the deer had galloped off into the forest to safety.

She didn't feel all that upset about losing her lunch… literally, but still, she felt a small for of inferiority to the rest of her family members as she sat down on another log, sighing at her rookie mistake. She was so determined to prove that she wasn't some bubble-brained idiot who didn't deserve the gift she'd been given and yet here she was, empty-handed and annoyed.

She looked to the left when she heard a rustling and a grin broke out on her features as she caught sight of a piece of gray fabric flapping in the wind, hanging on to a nearby tree. She was there in a flash as she gently removed her scarf from the branch. It was ripped and damp, but she hugged it to her chest, tying it around her neck and pinning the Cullen brooch over the knot to keep it in place.

"You know I went to hell and back for you, right?" She asked, looking down at her accessory with a smirk. Her smirk faded into a grin as she sighed and sat back down. "But I'm so glad I did."

Ten minutes later, she stood and ran back to her backyard, certain that her family would be looking for her. They'd gone off to do their own hunting and it was upsetting when she broke through the trees to see them all standing there, wiping their mouths to rid themselves of the blood stains around their teeth.

She growled with her stomach as they smiled at her sadly as she trudged to their little group, a scowl on her face as her eyes grew darker. Uncle Jasper handed her a small, rectangular pouch filled with cows blood that they had in abundance for when most of the animals went into hibernation and she walked into the house, dragging her feet and exhaling in an exhausted way. Running like that took a lot out of her, she realized this when her legs almost gave out as she approached the dining room, opening the chia cabinet and opened its fragile glass doors.

Devorah growled again as she tried pathetically to reach the crystal wine glass on the very top shelf, cursing her rather short stature and wishing she could grow a few inches. She grew very annoyed, just standing there, her arm extended as high as it could go in a pitiful attemet to get closer to her cup.

She focused on the glass and gave a cry of surprise when it nudged forward on its own; almost like magic. She cried out louder when it toppled down off the shelf, gravity kicking in as it reached the floor. At the last second, Devorah looked to it and pictured it stopping. Much to her surprise, the glass stopped in mid-air, centimeters above the ground.

Her shouts alerted her family, who came sprinting into the dining room to find out what was wrong, the lot of tem stopping as she looked to them and then down to the goblet.

A smile broke out on Emmett's face as he took in the sigh and Dev wondered what he could be smiling at.

"I knew my little girl was special!"


	7. Chapter 7: We Regret To Inform You

**_Chapter Seven: We Regret to Inform You_**

Dev let the thin glass goblet fall to the wooden floor with a soft clink, her brain shattering completely as the fragile cup did not. She bent over at the waist and picked it up, her hands shaking like crazy as she held the wine glass to the dim dining room light, trying to find to spot if something was terribly wrong with it that made it do that. It couldn't possibly be her, could it?

While trying to pick up the pieces of her exploded brain, her Aunt Alice looked like she was about to sing in her incredibly high soprano while Carlisle looked absolutely floored. Jasper stayed silent, his bright, amber eyes wide with shock while Emmett and Rosalie both shared proud, beaming smiles as they watched their little girl who looked like she'd been hit by a bus.

"What just happened?" Devorah asked her voice cracking near the end as Rosalie's bright grin grew even brighter.

"I just knew it, Dev, you're such a different, special child; of course you'd have a power!" She exclaimed happily as Devorah looked to her Grandfather who still looked dumbstruck.

"Granddad, same question!" She exclaimed loudly as Carlisle shook his head.

"It's my theory that vampires take a piece of their personality with them to the 'other side', except its intensified. With me; I have my compassion, your Father; his incredible strength, Alice; her premonitions." He paused, thinking as he sat down on the edge of the dining room table.

Devorah looked at the glass that was back on the table again, wondering just how this could be possible. She'd heard her Granddad tell his theories of why certain vampires have certain talents t many, many times, but this was impossible; she wasn't anything extraordinary like Uncle Edward or Aunt Alice! They were the ones who possessed, no, deserved their gifts, they were good people! Devorah Rose Cullen wasn't pretty or strong or confident or anything like her family at all! All she thought she was good for was reading more books than the average human.

"When you had your nightmares; the room shook. Remember that Carlisle?" Esme asked and he nodded, crossing his arms over his toned, extremely hard torso as she walked over to him, her flawless face contorted in though as she placed a thin, pale hand on his shoulder.

"I do, perhaps that's what you've taken over. When you went through your 'little phase', it felt like an earthquake; as if you couldn't focus in on every object… but with it intensified, you can concentrate on one specific mass." Devorah sunk down onto one of the dining room chairs beside Dr. Cullen; realizing that she'd been sitting down in surprise quite a bit lately.

"You're joking me, you must be, this is positively mental!" She said in a small, soft, disbelieving voice as Emmett walked towards her, reaching into the cabinet and plucking another glass from a shelf, setting it on the table.

"I don't think so, but try again, just to be sure Dev." He encouraged brightly and she did as he said, turning to the cup, gazing at it intently.

She tried to reimagine the desperation she had when she did it the first time. She was still hungry, that was for sure, but it seemed as though it wasn't the same as having it so far out of her reach. She focused on the elegant glass piece and concentrated as hard as she could, picturing the glass rising up into the air.

A smile broke out on her face as the base of the glass lifted up about six centimeters before dropping back down in the table with a little clink. Emmett laughed, looking as though his mind had been blown as Dev turned and picked up the blood package from the ground, ripping it open and pouring it into the wine glass, tilting her head back and downing the lot of it in one sip.

"Sorry" She murmured when she realized that she'd killed the proud aura in the room with her frantic need to get something in her system.

The blood tasted terrible; almost like water with a slightly bitter aftertaste, she couldn't fathom how the family could stand it.

"How can you drink this? It's vile!" She exclaimed and Edward let out a hoarse chuckle, his gaze dropping to the ground.

"That's cow's blood, Devorah, it's the worst." He told her and she cocked her head to the side.

"Then what's the best?" She asked and his grin widened.

"Mountain lion." He replied and Emmett shook his head.

"I prefer grizzly bear." He said, making Deb giggle.

"Cannibal." She whispered under her breath as her Daddy's eyes widened.

"Watch it, mental chick." He growled at her, his serious tone undermined by the boyish grin that broke out on his face.

"We'll try hunting again tomorrow but I do believe it's useless, dovey." Carlisle told her and she cocked her head to the side.

"W-what do you mean?" She asked and he sighed.

"The animals go into hibernation at this time during the year; I think we'll be drinking cow's blood until the snow melts."

Her scream rang through the house as her Grandpa's words sunk in.

The next few days passed in sheer agony as Dev adjusted to her new un-life. The Cullen's home was located deep in the woods; just far enough off the path so no unsuspecting campers or humans could accidentally be her supper.

It was hard for her to re-learn average skills, such as holding a glass without breaking it in her incredibly strong, newborn grip or crossing the room without actually running at top speed. Needless to say, she was frustrated and for the three months it took her to have her eyes change from red to gold, so frustrated in fact that she would sometimes just stay locked up in Carlisle's study, staring at a book while trying to control her thirst.

"Dove, maybe you should come outside for a bit, maybe get some fresh air?" Carlisle asked her hopefully and she shook her head, not looking up from Stephen King's _The Shining. _

"No Grandpa, I don't want to." She said in a small voice. Even at seventeen, Devorah had never really outgrown her shy phase, it stayed with her throughout her teenage years and the whole family thought they would continue into adulthood.

"Why not?" He asked, sitting down on the sofa beside her and she finally put her book down, turning and giving him a bone-crushing hug.

"Because." She stated and he gave her an odd look.

"Because why?" She shook her head again, letting it rest on his freezing chest and squeezing her eyes shut tightly.

"Because I'm scared." She told him. It was barely a whisper and the good doctor was surprised that he'd caught it, but he heard her and he sighed, hugging her back.

"There's nothing to be afraid of, dovey. I know, this new life will take some getting used to but our way never seemed to bother you before-" She cut him off with a confused look and sat back on her heels.

"What? No Grandpa, I'm not scared of what I am now, I'm scared of what I could do!" She exclaimed.

"There aren't any humans for miles, Dev." Carlisle assured her and she turned away from him, standing up and walking towards the window. Concealed sunshine shone through the thin glass as she put her hand on the frost-bitten panes, feeling no difference in temperature.

"There doesn't have to be, Carlisle, I want blood so badly right now, I can smell it all the way from town. I want it… no, I need it, I'll do anything to get it!" she said, her voice rising in pitch as she entered hysterics. Her hand jolted back and she rammed her nails into the glass, dragging them down and scratching away at the window. "I can't go on without a taste; I have to have it, Carlisle." She said, letting her hand fall back to her side.

Carlisle was worried about his little dove, and he knew something was deeply wrong the second she called him by his name. It'd always been Grandpa or Granddad with her, she had never had to be a serious with him as she was then.

"I don't want to see the look on Mummy's face when I finally lose it." She whispered, crossing her arms over her chest and sliding down the wall. She scrunched up her face, waiting for the tears to come but none came. She looked to Carlisle like a deer stuck in the headlights and for a second, he thought he heard a cracking sound coming from his still heart.

"You can't cry, dovey." He told her and she hugged her knees up to her chest, slumping her head down so her long hair fell in her eyes. Dry, choked sobs wracked her slight frame as she pretended she could feel the warm wetness of her tears on her icy cheeks. Dr. Cullen leaned against the wall and sat down next to her again, slinging an arm around her shoulder.

She raised her gaze from the red carpeted floor to him, brushing a lock of her hair out of her eyes and she let her head fall onto his shoulder. "What do we do now?" She asked suddenly and Carlisle shrugged.

"We take it one day at a time, Devorah, and just so you know, you've been doing famously so far." The light sound of her giggle was music to his ears as she dragged him back into another hug. They pulled away and she stood up as he did. She waltzed over to the door and turned the knob, flashing him another big smile.

"Thank you Grandpa, come on, let's go." He nodded and followed her out into the living room.

Devorah beaming grin fell from her face instantly as she took in the sight of the rest of the family, who were seated on the many couches around the room. Alice had her arms wrapped around Rosalie while Esme was hugging herself. Edward was staring at the floor while Emmett stared out the window, his large hands balled into tight fists. Jasper stood beside him, his frame rigid as he clutched a piece of paper in his smooth, marble hand.

They all looked to the pair when they came out and Rosalie let out a choked sob when she saw her daughter. Alice's hold on her tightened as Jasper turned, walking in a stiff, clenched way to the patriarch of the family. He shoved the piece of paper into his hands and let out a low growl, making Dev step back a little bit.

"What does it say Carlisle?" She asked and he held up a hand as he read the paper in his head. He paused and his eyes widened as he finished reading it. He cleared his throat and looked to Devorah with pain in his eyes as he lowered his gaze to the inky words printed in cursive and began to read.

_"Dear Cullen family,_

_We regret to inform you that we are well aware of the human girl that Mr. Emmett and Miss Rosalie have 'adopted' into your coven. Where we obtained this information is none of your concern and shall remain as such, but we must request your presence in Volterra, Italy as soon as possible to discuss this matter as it poses a threat to all of our kind. I am disappointed in all of you for taking such a dangerous route but what has been done has been done and must be dealt with accordingly. _

_Sincerely, _

_Aro, Caius and Marcus"_

The creased and crumpled paper fell from the doctor's hand as he finished and Dev froze completely. She could've ripped apart the world she felt so angry but she kept it in, she didn't want to make a scene in front of her family, especially not with how calm they were acting.

"How could this happen?" Esme asked, her voice wavering and a little piece of Dev's soul chipped away at how fragile she sounded.

"We've come across many nomads since being here, some we haven't parted on very good terms with. What I'm more bewildered by is how long it took to actually happen." Carlisle answered and then exhaled, making his way towards the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Alice asked as he ascended to the upper levels of their large, beautiful home.

"To pack our things, Dev and I leave in the morning." He responded and Rosalie was in front of him in a second.

"You're mad!" She exclaimed loudly. "I'm coming as well!" She shouted and Carlisle shook his head.

"Their leader, Aro and I have history, it will be easier for Devorah to dodge punishment if I'm the one vouching for her." He replied and Rosalie shook her head.

"But… but…" She trailed off and Dev flashed up beside her, pulling her Mummy into a hug.

"It's alright, Mum. I'll be back before you know it. You hold down the fort here, okay?" She asked and the blonde woman still looked as though she wasn't sure. Dev gave her a cautious smile as she pulled away from the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen and blonde caved.

"You'll come back?" She asked and Dev nodded.

"It shouldn't take more than three days." Carlisle assured her and the woman nodded, allowing her daughter and father figure to go up to their rooms and pack their belongings. Dev only took what was essential and at the last minute before she closed her suitcase, she picked up a copy of her treasured Edgar Allen Poe works and placed it on top, shutting the lid and zipping it shut.

The next day, she stood outside Carlisle's black Mercedes, suitcase in hand, her Cullen scarf wrapped around her neck. She kissed her Mum on the cheek and gave each family member a tight hug, trying to ignore the lump she felt in her throat, knowing she'd only get more upset that she couldn't shed a tear.

She gave her Daddy a half smile just before she got into the front seat of the car and a little wave. She knew she'd be back, but she couldn't shake the feeling that it wouldn't be for a long, long time.


	8. Chapter 8: Welcome to the Darkness

**__I hate to admit when I'm wrong and it happens a lot but I've done a slimy, slimy thing. It's (hopefully) no longer there anymore, but I added in a bit of a love triangle to my summary. This was a stupid way to try and get more people to read as it came to my attention a while ago just how many people love Demetri. Hence, I've realized my mistake and have thusly removed it. I'm very sorry for almost adding in a cliche, and now, I'll send you off onto my latest chapter with a warning; this does contain mild, implied Heidi/Carlisle.  
**

**_Chapter Eight: Welcome to the Darkness_**

The courtyard in front of the clock tower was very crowded with tourists in bright, neon colours. Dev tugged the scarf tighter around her head and neck and pushed her big, black sunglasses up her nose, pulling up her full-length gloves as well. She was covered up completely as Carlisle was too, except he had an ascot tied around his neck and his pair of sunglasses were more suave and sleek.

Vendors yelled things in Italian to everybody and the two tried their best to ignore it as they wove through the mass, trying to find where they were going. Devorah stopped suddenly and turned around, making Carlisle wonder why and he growled lowly when he saw a very handsome vendor pulling her over to his stall.

Carlisle pushed past people as he followed the man who led her to his flower-laden cart, muttering things in Italian as she showed her the beautiful roses and daisies. Dev wanted nothing more than to get out of here and she silently thanked Carlisle when he appeared from amidst the hundreds of people.

"Benvenuto signore, stavo mostrando la tua bella moglie le rose, sono sicuro che sarei grato se avete acquistato il suo unico!" _(Welcome sir, I was showing your lovely wife the roses, I'm sure she'd appreciate if you bought her one.) _Carlisle frowned and Dev feltcompletely and totally lost behind the language barrier as her Grandfather held a hand up and shook his head, responding in fluent Italian. Devorah never actually learned how to speak any language other than English and found it to be quite dull, but it was then that she wished that she'd listened to Uncle Edward when he said she might need it someday.

"Non è mia moglie e noi dobbiamo andare." _(She is not my wife and we must be going.) _The vendor realized his mistake and grabbed onto Dev's hand again as they turned to leave.

"Un fiore per la donna bella poi, senza alcun costo." _(A flower for the beautiful woman then, no charge.) _A blush passed over Devorah's face as she caught most of what he'd said, accepting the flower and allowing herself to be dragged away by Carlisle, secretly happy to leave.

She held her breath to help with the thirst as they again began to politely shove people out of the way, looking for any suspicious, vampire-ish characters. The trouble was, as far as the eye could see, everyone here was human, and over half was American. This particular group was also very, very loud, making it hard for Carlisle and Dev to use their advanced and heightened hearing.

It was fifteen minutes before we broke through the mass to reach the elegant, ancient clock tower, fashioned from sienna stone and wood. The clock chimed one in the afternoon as Carlisle scanned the crowd, as if looking for someone. Devorah didn't dare ask who lest it break his concentration, but soon, he froze and honed in on a particularly loud voice that rose high above the din.

"Keep together please, right this way!" A female voice said that made her mind turn to mush. It was light, attractive and trustworthy, like Dev could've given her bank card to the woman without even seeing her face! Not too long after Carlisle and Devorah heard her, a stunning, tall woman with red lips and a red trench coat burst through the wall of people, with a large group trailing behind her. She had the strangest violet eyes and light brown hair, Dev instantly knew she was a vampire.

Although her pale skin was a bit of a give-away, his woman had the most remarkable smell that wafted over the teenager, even though the woman was seven meters away from her. Although not necessarily a power, as all vampires could do it, Dev could sniff out one of her own kind, just like that. They smelled unnaturally good and each one was distinct, for example, her Aunt Alice smelled like roses and dark chocolate, her Mummy Rosalie like lilacs and lemons. Her Daddy Emmett; however had a musky, strange smell that wasn't exactly good but still very comforting when she was scared during a thunderstorm. Uncle Jasper smelled like gun power and war after so much time in one, while Grandpa Carlisle bore a scent that had a distinct likeness to old books. His wife; Grandma Esme had the faintest hint of warm caramel amidst the overpowering, but not unwelcome smell of freshly-baked brownies. Her Uncle Edward had the best smell of them all, like sweet perfume that didn't really have a name and this new woman was just like that, except she radiated something else, something off.

Devorah furrowed her brow and tried to remember just what was lingering under all the beckoning aroma the woman was sending out and it suddenly hit her. Once, when she was six, she cut her knees when she fell down on some sharp rocks. She ran home crying and Jasper had to leave while Rosalie bandaged her up, insisting to Carlisle that 'Mom's just do this sort of thing on their own'. The irony smell of blood was in the air that day and she recognized it to be the thing that made this otherwise perfect looking woman a bit scary.

Just then, an older looking lady holding the hand of a small boy crossed in front of Carlisle vision, dragging him from his own little world of the thought. The two were headed in the direction of the woman and Carlisle instantly flew into action. He sped-walked over to them as fast as possible and tapped the woman on the shoulder, making her turn to him with annoyed look.

"What?" She snapped and the Doctor backed up a step into the shade, removing his sunglasses. The ladies face changed from anger to attraction in approximately three seconds as she drunk in Dev's Grandfather's appearance and the teenager couldn't help but roll her eyes. Sometimes, Grandpa Carlisle would take her into work with him to teach her about his way of life and every time, fawning nurses would come scuttling over, pinching Dev's cheeks and pretending to be absolutely smitten with the little girl in an attempt to get on the doctor's good side.

"I'm sorry, Miss, I didn't mean to pry but are you considering taking the tour that young woman is giving?" Carlisle asked as the woman smoothed her hair and nodded.

"I was just about to take my son, why do you ask?" She questioned in a breathless voice and Carlisle gave her an amused, borderline flirty grin.

"Well I just wanted you to know that I've been on that particular tour and I just wanted to warn you that it isn't very suitable for young children." He told her and she looked down at her little boy and then back to the doctor.

"Oh my, thank you for telling me, sir! I certainly don't want to be caught up in another lifetime of nightmares! You have no idea how bad it was getting! I swear I got about twenty minutes of sleep every night!" The lady cracked up at her own little story and Devorah's Grandfather laughed along politely with her when Dev decided to step in and rescue him.

"Gr-Dad, we should be going okay? Mum's waiting." She said with a pointed look at the woman who instantly flushed a dark red and looked from him to her than beck to him before taking her son's hand again, thanking Carlisle one more time, and disappearing into the crowd.

"What was that about?" Devorah asked when she was gone and Carlisle leaned against the stone wall.

"The tour guide, Heidi, is a fisher; she rounds up victims for the Volturi to… drink from." Dev's eyes widened as she looked back to the way the woman and her child had left.

"That's why you stopped her." She said quietly and Carlisle nodded. Dev turned back to him frantically, her hands shaking. "But what about the rest?" She asked quickly, struggling to keep her voice down around the hordes of people. Carlisle shook his head and gave the people part of the tour a sad glance.

"You can't save everyone, dovey. You have to learn to take comfort in sparing what you can." He said in a hushed voice and Dev nodded, but still felt guilty. "Besides, I believe it's time for you to meet our lovely little tour guide." Carlisle said with a bitter edge, stepping out of the shadows a little bit and walking closer to the red-clad lady.

Dev was beyond frightened to meet this woman, especially knowing what she knew then, but she sucked it up for her Granddad and tried to make it look like her knees weren't knocking.

"Heidi." Carlisle said loud enough for her to hear and her perfect head snapped around to face him, her lips turning up into a cross between a smirk and a smile with no feeling. It made Dev's skin crawl but she held back her gag reflex as Dr. Cullen moved even closer to her, with Dev trailing behind.

"Carlisle, it's been such a long, long time." The woman almost purred as she held out her gloved hand for him to kiss. Instead, much to her disappointment, he merely ignored it and gave her a hard glare. "Why so cold dearest? I remember a time when you loved to be around me." Heidi said with a cruel giggle while the doctor's mouth curled into a sneer.

"The tour has been cancelled!" He announced in the loudest voice he had and upset and disappointed murmurs were heard not a few moments afterwards. The crowd dispersed fairly quickly and Heidi looked around frantically to her lost prey and then back to Carlisle, her mouth set in an angry line.

"We didn't expect you so soon, Carlisle darling." She hissed as she led them away from the sun's rays into a dark alleyway. "Most law breakers try to run, we were afraid we'd have to go all the way to America." She said darkly, giving Devorah a pointed glare, a maniacal look in her strange eyes.

Heidi's beauty rivalled Dev's Mummy, but her pretty face was nothing like Rosalie's, Dev's adopted mother had a softness to her features, and air of caring and gentility was about the blonde-haired female vampire that this woman obviously lacked, almost as if this Heidi person was hollow on the inside, without any emotion of love at all. It was unsettling for Devorah to watch, as this woman carried herself like she was the most beautiful thing in the world when really; she could've been the ugliest.

"We have broken no law." Carlisle defended and the woman smirked as Dev lowered her sunglasses, folding them into her purse.

"Evidently not, but my superiors will want to see for themselves." She said with a hint of bitterness in her voice. Heidi shook herself from her thoughts and looked back to the two vegetarian vampires, her eyes narrowing again. "Follow me." She said in a small voice, turning and leading them down the alley.

Dev and Carlisle trailed behind her at a comfortable distance where they found they could talk without worrying about her overhearing or eavesdropping.

"Why did she keep calling you all those weird pet names?" Dev asked and Carlisle sighed.

"I met Esme in 1911, almost two-hundred years after I left the Volturi. Before her, Heidi caught my eye." Dev gasped, the only one for Carlisle seemed to be Esme, why would he even look at another girl if he apparently loved her so much? "I know what you're thinking dove but I was young and she had a pretty face." He sighed before continuing "Not that Esme isn't stunning but back then, I had no clue what love was and the attraction I felt towards Heidi was mistaken for it. Of course, she's never let go of the past." He grumbled and Dev gave him a sympathetic smile, taking his hand in hers.

"Did you ever sleep with her?" Carlisle's eyes widened and he looked from his granddaughter to the fisher and back to Dev before shaking his head.

"Never." He replied and this seemed to placate Dev as they reached a large, bolted door. Heidi reached up to the heavy metal piece and unhinged it with a flick of her wrist, welcoming the two vampires behind her into the darkness.


	9. Chapter 9: Instinct

**_Chapter Nine: Instinct_**

The hallway before Devorah was old, she could tell, with a large chandelier hanging from the ceiling and bright red rugs muffling her footsteps beneath her feet. Tapestries hung on the walls, stitched into them in gold thread was a capital V with mist swirling around and a red gem in the center. It looked almost imposing against the black backdrop, and gave Dev the shivers but she ignored it as she followed her Granddad and Heidi down a flight of marble stairs to a circular room.

A door was on the far wall, old and wooden like it was as old as the Volturi themselves and the black-and-white-checked tile floor was chipped and cracked in some places. The wall paper in this room was a dark gray and it almost weighed it down with gloom and depression.

Heidi held up a hand to stop Devorah and Carlisle as she approached the door, her back as straight as a board as she knocked twice, tapping her high-heeled foot against the floor as she waited for a reply.

Exactly seven seconds later, the door swung open and a smile that was almost genuine lit up her face as two men emerged.

One was tall, impossibly tall with brown hair, gelled and side-parted in fifties perfection. He had on a dark gray trench coat that reached his chin, covering the skin of his neck that was olive in tone, but looked as though it was covered in white chalk dust. His bloody eyes seemed fixated on Heidi's chest and Dev rolled her eyes, looking to Carlisle who just shook his head as Dev turned back to the other man who stood beside him.

His eyes were glancing at Carlisle, like he was trying to make it look like he wasn't staring at him and failing. He was young, there was no denying that, much younger than the taller man, who looked to be about mid-thirties. The other vampire looked to be around eighteen or nineteen, with his hair a lighter shade of brown and his skin a ghostly pale, lacking the olive tone. He wore a darker cloak than the man beside him, and seemed to have a romantic, if nor arrogant air about him.

Suddenly, his eyes flew straight to Dev's, apparently aware that she was eyeing him closely. His eyes narrowed slightly, but returned to normal soon, after a few seconds. He gave her a boyish smirk, winking at her and she supressed a blush. Boys never fawned over her, and she never had any guy friends to be 'stuck in the friend zone' and she wasn't used to that at all.

"Carlisle, you remember Felix and Demetri correct?" Heidi asked, turning to Carlisle who nodded stiffly. He didn't seem as repulsed by them as he did Heidi, Dev noticed, but then again, they weren't flirting with him either.

"I do." He replied and Heidi smirked again. Dev began to wonder if that was the only thing this woman could do with her mouth other than frown and it was a bit upsetting that someone could be that joyless.

"Is that her?" The taller man asked, finally getting his eyes off of Heidi's chest and she nodded.

"Yes Felix, that's the little orphan." Devorah stiffened when Heidi said the last word, intending it as an insult and it worked, Dev was offended, and had always been offended by people who called her that. She was never an orphan; she had parents, even if they didn't conceive her.

"Don't call me that." Devorah replied sharply and the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. Heidi's smirk fell from her face before quickly returning, this time even more sinister.

"So it can speak. Tell me, what's its name Carlisle?" She asked in an icy voice as Dev took a step forward. She would not be pushed around by stranger that she'd never had a direct conversation with.

"_My _name is Devorah." She said, gritting her teeth together while the other man, Demetri, almost grinned. He snorted and Heidi gave him a glare.

"Something funny, Demetri?" Heidi asked and he shook his head.

"Of course not." He replied, sobering up as Heidi turned on her heel and walked through the doorway. Carlisle took Dev's hand again as they followed, with Demetri and Felix bringing up the rear, making escape impossible, even if they wanted to.

They walked in utter silence and not a word was open until the group of five reached yet another door, this one much, much bigger. With another flick of her wrist, this door opened as well, allowing the group entrance to the dark throne room. The floor was a dark, dark marble, with a table to the far right covered in books and sconces all around, illuminating the ghostly pale faces attached to bodies clad in black suits that sat on tall, wooden thrones raised above the floor slightly. The thrones were intricately carved, as if someone who had the firmest hand had done them a thousand years ago, they were fascinating, but not as much as the people sitting on them.

The man to the far left leaned against his arm rest, looking like he wanted nothing more than to go kill himself he looked so bored. His long, brown hair was tied back away from his pale face and his red necktie clashed terribly with the black satin suit he wore as well as a necklace with the letter V for a pendant. His red eyes were distant and fixed on something Dev couldn't see, making her wonder just what it was.

The man next to him in the center seemed much more alert, with his back completely straight and ready to pounce with no red tie around his very pale neck and his shoulder-length, black hair loose. His eyes were giddy and maniacal, making Devorah a tad scared of him, especially when they landed on hers, but she just averted her eyes and noticed that he wore the same necklace as the man sitting to the left.

It was then that Devorah felt the strangest pull on her mind to look at the very last man sitting in the row. She'd been so focused on the one in the middle that she'd almost forgotten about him, but it was then that she turned a bit to the side and let her gaze fall onto the final vampire.

She sucked in a breath in surprise, but found that the air had left her lungs. She locked eyes with him for a moment and the corners of her vision turned fuzzy as Carlisle, Demetri, Heidi and Felix vanished off the face of the earth entirely. She was absolutely floored at how beautiful he was, with his light blonde hair pushed back away from his pale, angular face that held slightly feminine features and the most beautiful set of eyes in the world. He seemed to be assessing her just as she was him, but no emotion was on his face at all until the last possible second when the tiniest possible half-smile curled up onto his perfect lips.

She didn't get a chance to smile back at the man in the middle stood and clasped his hands together, stepping forward to greet the two.

"Carlisle, my dear, dear friend. It's been so very long, hasn't it?" He asked rhetorically, walking forward briskly to stand in front of him. "How is your lovely Esme?" He inquired and Carlisle seemed to relax a bit when he mentioned her name whist Heidi stiffened.

"She is quite well, Aro. I trust that you are in good health as well." Carlisle replied and an ecstatic smile lit up the man named Aro's face that appeared genuine.

"Quite, Carlisle, quite." He told him and the doctor gave him a faint smile. Aro turned to Devorah with a gleam of curiosity in him milky red eyes as he took in her appearance. "This must be the little human you adopted, but I see that she is human no longer." He said in a hissy, snake-like voice that gave Dev a bad feeling.

"I changed her three months ago, Aro." Carlisle spoke up and Dev wondered why he was lying until she remembered. The Romanians were being hunted by the Volturi, Carlisle didn't want to give away their place in America lest it create a scene and people get hurt.

"How interesting. Tell me my dear, what is your name?" He asked her and she suddenly found her voice to be lost.

"D-Devorah, Devorah Cullen." She stammered and Aro's eyes widened as he smiled even bigger.

"How… beautiful, it's Hebrew I believe, for honey bee." He said and she nodded. Uncle Jasper told this information to her when she was very small and while the others called her dove; he told her that she would always be his honey bee.

"I see that you have gotten rid of the issue Carlisle, for drastic measures would have had to be taken if you did not." He said in a breathy voice as he turned and went back to his throne, sitting down in the middle.

"It was my family's intention to change her when the time came. We did not want to violate not one but two of your laws, Aro." Carlisle said and the raven-haired man pursed his lips.

"Of course, dear friend. You never were one to… break the rules, you play the game fair." Aro said with a smirk and the blonde man sitting to his right laughed humourlessly under his breath. "Devorah, I present to you, Marcus and Caius, two of the original founding members of the Volturi, with myself being the third." Dev didn't really know what to do, she considered curtsying but she never really got the hang of that so she decided to just be polite.

"Hello." She said in a small voice and a tiny but genuine smile crossed over the man named Marcus's lips. Neither of them said anything and when Dev looked over to the man named Caius, the reaction she had before did not return.

"My dear, your family is so… full of incredible talents, forgive my curiosity but I am eager to know if you share this characteristic." Aro confessed ad she nodded. She'd been practicing every day with Alice to help build her strength and found that lifting objects with her mind was quite like lifting them with her hands, they had the same amount of strain. Of course, right now she could only lift small things, as her power required her to literally train a new pair of hands, but she hoped she'd be able to impress this stranger, she wanted to make her Granddad proud.

"I have a talent." She whispered, reaching into her pocket and taking out the rose that the vendor gave her. She smiled lightly and smelled it before lifting her hand in front of her and concentrating on the stem. She never lowered her arm as she kept her mental grip in the stem of the rose as she levitated it over to the man sitting in the center chair, who reached his hand out to delicately pluck it from the air. Marcus lifted an eyebrow at the sight, but he definitely didn't seem as impressed as Aro, whose mouth had fallen open slightly in shock. Caius's eyes widened at the spectacle, but he did not voice his opinions as the dark-haired man did.

"Amazing." He whispered. "Simply amazing." He placed the rose in the lapel of his suit and Devorah found it in her to smile back at the somewhat unearthly man. "I wonder if such gifts could be put to use in combat." He asked himself allowed and Dev shook her head.

"No, Alice and I haven't gotten that far yet, I can only lift small things!" She refused and Aro's eyes glazed as she mentioned her Aunt's name.

"Perhaps all you need is encouragement." He retaliated, glancing to the shadows at the right of him for half-a-second. "Jane." He said in a small voice and a girl that Devorah didn't know was there emerged.

"Yes Master?" She asked in an innocent voice as he nodded towards Carlisle. "Very well." She replied and looked to him as well, a pensive look passing over her face as she whispered something else. "Pain." It was at that moment that Devorah wrenched her hand from Dr. Cullen's grip, who fell to his knees, balling his hands into fists. She looked from her cracked skin to him in horror and then to Aro when his screaming began.

"Stop it!" She exclaimed, her eyes widening as she looked to Jane, who had a smug smirk on her pale lips and a gleeful look dancing in her eyes. Her blonde hair was done up in a tight coil and she lightly tapped her older-styled shoes against the ground as Devorah's Grandfather writhed around in agony.

Hot, red rage, potent and fiery filled Devorah's veins and un-beating heart. In an instant, her eyes flashed to the table laden with books. She looked back to Jane, who seemed to be in her own little world of pain and torture and giggles as Devorah lifted her arm to the side, focusing on the table, which began to rattle and rise slightly. She didn't close her eyes as her muscles began to strain against the heavy load, and for a second, she thought she couldn't do it.

At that moment, Carlisle let out the loudest roar and threw his head back to hard that the skin around his neck chipped. That was all Dev needed and a burst of adrenaline ran though her as she used every last ounce of this newfound strength to send the table flying through the air and crashing on top of the oblivious Jane.

She fell to the ground on impact as Carlisle lurched forward, his breathing heavy as the pain subsided. Dev didn't spare the blonde little girl a second glance as she fell down on her knees beside her Granddad and hugged him tightly, almost cracking parts of his body she clung to him so fiercely.

"Dovey, it's alright, I'm just fine, I'm so proud of you." He muttered as he hugged her back, momentarily forgetting the aftershocks of the agony he just went through. He held onto her waist for support as they stood up. Jane cracked her neck back into place as she stood as well, her bloody eyes angry and looking at Devorah, who was staring intently at Aro.

"You… you..." Dev struggled to find a word insulting enough but stopped when she felt Dr. Cullen's arm on her shoulder, silencing her.

Aro let out a gleeful little giggle and stood up, not daring to approach the teenage girl. "How extraordinary!" He exclaimed quietly as Devorah growled a little bit under her breath. "You're strength is astounding and your will… well, this makes me very intrigued." He said with a sick amount of happiness in his voice, like he was a childish little boy who had been allowed to open a Christmas present early.

Dev looked to Marcus, who gave her an almost apologetic look, but she assumed it to be a trick of the light, or lack thereof as the sconces gave of an eerie glow. She shifted her gaze to Caius, whose expression was unreadable, but he definitely was impressed by Devorah's display.

"I'm sure your skills could improve with practice, and my guard has a wide array of talented individuals whose gifts are based on mentality who could help you." Devorah wondered for a moment if he was seriously offering her something after he'd tried to kill one of her family members. The thought made her ill and she squared her shoulders, trying to look as imposing as possible.

"No." She said in a low, gravelly voice. This seemed to starle Carlisle, who had never heard her sound so frightening. Aro instantly changed his composure, turning from that of slimy and untrustworthy, to that of welcoming.

"Carlisle is free to stay with you as well, Devorah, should you decide to stay on a bit longer without his presence later on, that is also permitted." The idea still seemed shifty, but a chance to improve her powers was interesting, especially since most of her family had powers that didn't need mental strength. She looked to Carlisle, who nodded and looked up to Aro.

"I believe it would be beneficial to her, if we were to stay longer than planned, Aro." This seemed to placate the old vampire, who smiled widely and nodded.

"Wonderful! Demetri and Felix will show you to your rooms, I'm sure you're quite exhausted after such strain, Devorah. Go now and rest, you shall meet the rest later." He said and Demetri and Felix flashed over, standing beside the two.

Dev turned and allowed herself to be lead from the room, mindlessly following the two vampires, not saying a word as they left a smiling Aro, an apathetic Marcus and a bewildered Caius behind.


	10. Chapter 10: The Damnable Gentleman

**_Chapter Ten: The Damnable Gentleman_**

"I do hope your room is to your liking." Demetri's voice was liquid, like honey with a poisonous aftertaste to the ears and Devorah was more than a little afraid of being left alone with him, as Felix had parted with Carlisle a long while ago. She knew deep, deep down that Aro was the one to fear, as he had his mind-reading abilities and Carlisle would suffer for lying to him while all Demetri had was his awesome tracking.

It really was beautiful, with the wallpaper being a dark red and the bed in the center of the room having a matching comforter. A shelf of records and a record-player was on the far wall, as well as a whole wall of books. It was obvious that this room had catered to the whims of a younger vampire similar in age only to Dev. Yes, she did like music and she did stop a Frank Sinatra record on the shelf, but good gosh, Nancy Drew Mysteries, really, that's what they chose instead of the classics?!

"I like it, it's really nice." She said quietly, lying a little bit, eyeing the room and a snort of laughter, barely audible, even to her vampire hearing was heard behind her.

"You are a strange one, aren't you?" He asked and she turned to look at him, cocking her head to the side.

"What makes you say that?" That triggers a smirk from the tracker, who took a step closer, making her back up.

"You're a brave one, not everyone is courageous enough to face Jane." Dev shrugged and looked to the bed in confusion.

"What's that for?" She asked, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Some of our guests have mates." He said with another smirk and she rolled her eyes, flopping down on the comforter.

"Gross." She groaned when her head hit the pillow, spreading her arms out and exhaling loudly. She said nothing for a few minutes before letting her eyes close. "I want to die." She rasped dramatically and she heard the sound of reed blowing in the wind. She cracked open an eye to see Demetri standing there, his strange laughter being the cause of the noise.

"That can easily be arranged." Dev glared at him and rolled her eyes again, using the small amount of strength she had to get her from the throne room to her guest room to levitate one of the pillows and hurl it at his head. Demetri snickered again and dodged the flying cushion as Devorah slumped down, pretending to be asleep.

Dev found that if she closed her eyes and concentrated on keeping her breathing steady, she could tune out the rest of the world and recharge at her own pace, without the use of blood.

"What're you doing?" Demetri asked and she was mildly annoyed that he hadn't left yet.

"You're still here?" Dev asked and again he laughed, this time with less humour.

"You and your Granddad have chased away my meal. I don't really have anywhere else to go and I'm bloody starving!" He exclaimed loudly, moving a bit closer. Dev flipped on her side and looked down on the ground where her suitcase lay and she picked it up, pulling it onto the bed.

"Here." She said, unlatching the ties and pawing through her clothing, not bothering to feel embarrassed about the lingerie that tumbled out as she dug to the bottom. She smirked to herself when she reached a plastic bag and opened it, pulling out two packets of blood. She kept one by her side and tossed the other to the tracker, who looked at it curiously as she dug her teeth into the plastic, draining the blood from it in two seconds.

"What's this?" Demetri asked, turning the package over in his hands and she shrugged.

"Type A human blood. I got it from the hospital and wanted to try it. That's the only one I have, I don't really want to disobey Carlisle, and I like to think I have more self-control than that." She replied and he perked up at the mention of 'human'. "You can have it if you're so hungry." She said carelessly and he nodded.

He moved to leave but Dev wasn't sure she wanted to be alone right now. Yes, Demetri was creepy, hell, he was even downright frightening, but she'd trade him over her own thoughts and worries about Carlisle any day.

"Y-you don't have to go." She said carefully, and he looked back to her in confusion before it was covered up by yet another smirk.

"I don't?" He asked with a teasing edge in his voice and her eyes narrowed. She knew he was testing her, and she'd be damned if she failed.

"No, you don't. Have a seat, stay a while, I can't go to sleep." She told him, stating the obvious and he nodded once, occupying the chair in the corner.

"As the lady commands." He said with a charismatic air as she rolled her eyes for the third time, turning and swinging her legs over the side of the bed, stumbling over to the shelf and pulling down a Frank Sinatra disc. She carefully pried it from the case and gently laid it on the player and positioned the needle so it played her favourite song.

_"Those fingers through my hair, that sly come hither stare, that strips my conscious bare, its witchcraft!" _She sang along with recorded voice and the sound of Demetri laughing was again heard and she sat back down, glaring daggers at him.

"You're a fan of ol' blue eyes?" Demetri asked with a smile in his voice and she nodded, digging through her suitcase again to carefully take out her most treasured possession.

It was then that she heard a ripping noise and she looked up just in time to see the last of the blood in the package disappearing down Demetri's throat. He threw the ripped package directly into the garbage and grimaced.

"Live off that stuff often?" He asked and she nodded, making his red eyes widen.

"All winter, and it's not even human blood." She told him and he looked like he didn't believe it.

"But it's vile!" He exclaimed and she nodded.

"Yep." She said in a bored voice as she sat back and opened her book to her place. "So talk to me. How old are you?" She asked and he snorted, dragging the chair closer to her bed.

"I'm over three-thousand years old, but perpetually, I am nineteen." He replied and her book dropped to her lap.

"You're joking. Three-thousand years!?" He nodded and she sighed.

"I'm only three months, but I won't age past seventeen." She replied and he smirked again.

"It's nice to have someone my age here, even if not forever. Jane and Alec are both thirteen, Heidi and Felix are absorbed with each other and also close to thirty, the Masters are all forty, except for Caius, he is twenty-four I believe. As for the rest, well, you can't really converse with them; most won't be around for very long." Dev felt a pang of pity in her chest as he folded his hands in his lap.

"I've never known that, I'm as old as my Uncle Edward and all of my Aunts and Uncles are younger than twenty." She replied and he nodded, looking a bit curious.

"Ah yes, your… family." He said with a hint of distain, making Dev growl a little bit. "Tell me about them." He asks with an air of disdain.

"What's to tell?" She asked, getting a bit angry. He had that smug smirk on his face when he mentioned the only people she really gave a damn about, like he was mocking them without saying so.

"I didn't mean to offend, Miss Cullen, I'm merely curious as to how they could carry such a heavy burden." He told her and she relaxed a little bit. Dev didn't see herself as a burden on the family, not anymore at least, but there were times when her Uncle Jasper couldn't be around her and it was then that she'd wonder if Carlisle made the right choice.

She sighed, deciding that it wouldn't hurt if he knew. "Do you want the long story or the short one?" She asked and he shrugged, making her sigh and clear her throat. "Grandpa told me I was born in a death camp. I can't really remember any pictures or visuals of my time there, because I was just an infant, but I do remember noises. Screaming mostly and the smell of smoke.

"Miraculously, my Mother survived and she came to the hospital where Carlisle was treating the gravely ill. She had typhus, and she was delusional, she thought him an angel and she gave me to him to protect me, he brought me home and gave me to his daughter to raise as her own.

"I went to school like normal, and we moved towns frequently, I knew what my family was, but I was never afraid of them, I loved them too much. When three months after my seventeenth birthday, Carlisle changed me and I learned to be a vegetarian like them." Dev finished and sat back on her heels, sighing as Demetri just stared at her.

"Well, say something!" She exclaimed and he shook his head as if clearing a thought. He stood up soon afterwards and walked to the door.

"I believe I've overstayed my welcome, Miss Cullen." Was all he said before he departed, leaving Dev all alone again.

"Are you joking me?" She asked out loud to nobody in particular as she put her book down on the bed and standing up. She felt a little better, but she was enjoying her conversation with Demetri, why did he have to go and cut it off? She groaned again, but stopped her little pity-party with thoughts of an ancient library full of interesting books. "I wonder…" She thought out loud as she approached the door, turning the handle and stepping outside.

It was warm in the castle, even for early May, but Dev had to keep reminding herself that she wasn't in America anymore. This was Italy, and it was bloody hot! She decided to take a left, turning down the hall, staring at the paintings on the wall.

She stopped when she saw one that really caught her eye. It was a large portrait, spanning from ceiling to floor and it appeared to be of one of the Master's.

_Oh, what was his name again… oh that's right, Caius. _She thought to herself as she took in the huge picture of the blonde. It was done with an expert hand, his high, pale cheek bones and stunning eyes were done in perfect paint brush strokes, with colour from his vibrant red scarf dancing with the darkness of his black robe. He was unearthly, inhumanly and completely stunning, Devorah had never seen a man like that.

"Do you like my portrait?" A voice asked behind her and Dev jumped almost a foot in the air. She turned around to find the man in question she was staring at standing a few feet away from her, hands clasped together and eyes curious.

"Um… they're a talented painter." She said, losing her voice on the middle. Caius's face contorted into a smirk as he moved, no, glided closer to young woman.

"It was done in 1762, exactly two-hundred years ago, interesting, isn't it?" Dev nodded; her breathing uneven as he assessed the painting of himself with a critical eye.

"Do you remember who did it?" She asked nervously. The aura coming off this man was not what she'd expected at all. It was definitely arrogant, definitely, but there was something about him that she couldn't put her finger on at all, it was unsettling and frustrating to say the least.

"I recall an English man, possibly William was his name." He said after a moment of thought, reaching out to touch the painting lightly with his pale hand.

"Oh." Was all she said, wondering again about the library.

"Any particular reason why you are wandering about, you're very far from your room." Caius said, not looking at her and her eyes widened.

"Really? I'm sorry; I just wanted to find the library." She said, looking at the floor, feeling like a scolded first grader.

"Our library is around seven minutes in the other direction, Miss Cullen." He snapped and she furrowed her brow. He made it sound like she was snooping instead of trying to find a specific room.

"I don't know where I'm going." She confessed but his heated, suspicious gaze didn't soften.

"Well, in that case, I would be more than happy to escort you." He said through clenched teeth, offering his arm to her. She took it hesitantly, nodding, a blush of embarrassment creeping onto her face as he began to lead in in the other direction.

Dev was very worried that the man might snap in two if she wasn't gentle with him at first, but only when she has linked arms with him did she realize just how solid and strong Caius was, even if he was one of the oldest vampires in the world.

They walked in awkward silence to wherever the library was, with Dev still casting glances at the paintings on the walls. She picked up the pace when she heard Caius growl the slightest bit under his breath when she lagged behind; walking faster, combined with the silence gave her a little bit of time to think.

_Well, he's definitely suspicious. _Dev thought, stealing a look at the stony yet attractive men to her right. _But he is very handsome, and a bit of a gentleman. Ha! Fancy that, a damnable gentleman!_ She stopped herself from laugh out loud, but a small snigger escaped her throat and Caius looked to her with an icy glare.

"_What_ are you laughing at?" He asked and she shook her head, giving him a bright smile.

"I just though of something funny." She replied carelessly, flipping her hair over her shoulder. Caius stiffened and straightened up, dragging her along at an even faster rate towards a large door.

"Miss Cullen, the library." He said quickly as if he was introducing her to the doors. She smirked and pushed them open, letting her eyes fall on the room inside.

"Bad."* She said, her smirk changing to a genuine smile as she waltzed inside with damnable gentleman.

**Okay, whenever you see these *, it means that it has a footnote at the bottom. **

** Bad*- bad was a term used in the 60's meaning awesome. Seeing as my story is set in 1962 right now, you'll be seeing quite a lot of this. **

** Other Notes: Bella WILL NOT be a part of this story in the way she was in the Twilight Saga, and Renesmee cannot and will never exist in this, I am very, very sorry. **


	11. Chapter 11: The Riddle

**A/N: It has been such a long time and I am so sorry! Is anybody reading this? Hello? Oh well. Hopefully you still are and will enjoy this chapter. I'm sorry for the delay but I sort of got out of Twilight and branched off into Doctor Who, Supernatural, Sherlock and my rather popular Phantom story. Anyway, once a Twihard, always a Twihard and now I'm back to give Devorah's story it's rightful conclusion! **

* * *

_**Chapter Eleven: The Riddle**_

"Wow." Devorah whispered as she stepped inside the library. It was bigger than gigantic, with what looked to be around a million books on a sea of wooden shelves. Placed in clustered were chairs with side tables set near them. Lamps sat on top of these as well as the occasional book that had yet to be returned. Devorah frowned when she noticed that everything was covered in a thick layer of dust.

"No one has been in here for a while, have they?" she asked, turning to her guide. He nodded. "Not for several decades." Dev gave the deserted room another sad look. "The library has fallen out of our minds. Perhaps it is best that you have reminded me." Dev couldn't help but grin.

_ Devilishly handsome, and a lover of books! What could be better?_ Dev thought as she rather rudely set off down the stacks of books, leaving Caius behind.

"Lets see..." She muttered. Caius followed her closely, watching her handle the old books with as much care as if they were an infant with milky, bored eyes.

_She is a riddle, that girl_. He caught himself thinking. That thought perished as am image of his fiancee Athenodora flooded his mind. Dev smiled as she plucked a book off of a rather tall shelf and then inspected the cover.

"Agatha Christie." she clarified for the blonde vampire, who nodded. "She really knows how to get into the mind of a mad man. I adore her." She gushed. Caius gave her a bored look that went unnoticed by Dev. She speed walked back to one of the chairs and didn't bother to brush off the dust before sitting down. Her position was surprisingly casual to Caius, who was used to dull women sitting with pin-straight backs. This vampire was sitting sideways on the arms chair, legs hanging over one side and her back supported on the other.

_ No respect._ Caius thought bitterly as he retrieved a large tome whose cover was written in a foreign language. He sat opposite to the newborn and opened his book, casting glances he way every once in a while.

_She looks starved._ He observed. _I wonder how old she was, she looks barely of age._ He smirked at her appearance. For a vampire, she was significantly average. Her skin was smooth yes, but her hair was not remarkable shade and her colorless features made her seem almost washed-out. _Immortality suits her ill._ Caius enjoyed mocking people when he was certain they would not hear, and yet he couldn't bring himself to say such things out loud.

"Why are you staring at me when you think I am not looking?" Deveorah's question caught him off guard.

"Forgive my curiosity, I merely wished to observe you." His response made her snort. Caius found this angered him. The young Cullen would have to be taught respect if Aro intended to keep her.

"You could just ask me questions." she replied and the blonde lifted an eyebrow.

"Very well, how old were you?" he asked. She shrugged.

"Seventeen." she paused a beat. "You?" Caius couldn't remember the last time someone had asked him that in such a casual way. They were not friends, she did not have permission to speak to him like that. Despite knowing this, Caius did not call her out on it, he answered her question.

"Twenty-three." was his response. He glared at her when she whistled.

"That is so young." she said softly. Caius growled a little bit at her insinuation, but bit back a scathing retort.

"I consider myself privileged. What we are is not a tragedy, what we were, however, was a disgrace." Dev shook her head.

"Some of my best memories were from when I was human." She said quietly. It was Caius's turn to repress a snicker.

"What human memory could compete with immortality?" He asked and Dev shrugged.

"Carlisle telling me a he'd time story every night, his wife Esme making a cake for my birthday." she sighed. "Mummy and Daddy waltzing in the living room." She shook herself from her memory land. "It is a gift to be what I am now, but knowing that I had a family who loved me before that was priceless." Dev didn't mean to insinuate anything, but it seemed that Caius took it that way.

"Perhaps" his voice was angry, his words were stressed. "It is tome you were returned to your room." Dev nodded, not having enough courage to defy him.

"May I borrow the book?" She asked, holding it up. Caius merely nodded as he led her from the room.

When she was safe and sound sitting back on her bed, she took out a pen and paper, scribbling a note to her family. It read:

_Dear Mummy, Daddy, Alice, Edward, Grand-mum and Jasper,_

_We're not coming home in two days. _

_Grandad will give you the full reason why as I honestly don't want to repeat it, but the main thing is that I'll be staying here to train. Please don't think I'll leave the coven! I will never, ever leave no matter what they say or do! I love you all so much and I hope we'll be home soon. _

_Do you guys have idea hoe gigantic the library is? I guess that's so like me, huh? Talking about books all the time, but seriously, it's almost as big as our house! They have every kind of book imaginable in almost every language and enough Agatha Christie to keep me occupied for a while. I'll still read Poe, Alice. I could never forget about my favorite little book of poems!_

_Mummy, Daddy, don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I'm a big girl... physically. _

_Uncle Jasper, smile more often. You're really pretty when you smile. I love you and miss you, but I think I can hold my own._

_Aunt Alice, I can't wait to get home and give you a hug. Actually, just picture me hugging you now!_

_Grand-mum, Grandad says he misses you and so this is from him! XO XO XO._

_And as for you Uncle Edward, find yourself a girlfriend! I hate seeing you so alone and unhappy. Find anyone, anyone! Except for Tanya, don't even get me started on her!_

_I love you all and I hope to see you soon,_

_Devorah Rose Cullen_

She sealed her letter and sighed. Dev wrapped her arms around her front, trying not to cry. A million books meant nothing if she didn't have her family and she missed her Mummy. Homesickness was just setting in when she left her room one more time and crossed the hall.

"Grandad?" she asked after knocking on the door. "It's me, Dev." she smiled when she door swung open and she left herself in.

"Hello, dove." Carlisle said to her. He was seated at his desk, writing a letter to Esme in his perfect handwriting. "Do you have something to mail?" he asked and she nodded.

She handed him her note and sat down on the bed. Moments passes before Carlisle looked to his granddaughter again, a look of concern crossing his face when he noticed her shoulders were shaking.

"Dove?" he asked her carefully. "Is something wrong?" She shook her head.

"I miss home." she confessed as he pulled her into a hug. When she moved away, she reached her hand up to wipe away non existent tears out of habit.

"I miss your Grandmother." Carlisle told her, making her smile. It faded however, and she looked around the room with dull eyes. "But we can't leave, that would be rude." Devorah nodded like she understood but still had a faraway look in her eyes.

"I don't like it here, Grandad." She whispered to him, almost as if someone was listening in. "It's awfully quiet. I miss the sound of Alice singing and Edward rattling on about how unfair it is that he has to share a room." Carlisle gave his granddaughter a reassuring smile and nodded.

"Yes, I know. But I'm here, does that count for nothing?" Dev's eyes widened and she shook her head.

"Of course you count it's just that..." She trailed off and sighed.

"I know what you meant, dove." He told her. "Did you have a chance to do some exploring?" He asked and she nodded.

"Yes, I went to the library with Caius." She told him. His eyes widened.

"Caius... Devorah, your old enough to take care of yourself but do be careful around him." He warned and she cocked her head to the side as if she didn't understand.

"Why?" She asked and he sighed.

"Because he is not like your uncle's or myself." Was his reply. Dev nodded, beginning to understand.

"I get it. Do you know what we'll be doing tomorrow?" She asked and Carlisle shook his head.

"I don't, but I need to know that you feel comfortable with this." He said and she nodded.

"I am comfortable with it, but you don't know how horrible it was watching Jane hurt you." She reached over to touch his neck where the chips and cracks had faded away.

"Believe me." He began. "I've been through worse." Dev gave him a surprised look.

"Really, what?" Carlisle let out a breathy laugh and continued writing his letter.

"Let's just say that you are the only one who believed me when I said that I didn't sleep with Heidi the very first time I told them." Dev bit her lower lip.

"And Grand-mum didn't..."

"No. It took awhile but eventually she forgave me. My Esme is very forgiving." He sighed and looked down at the letter again. "Especially when I don't deserve it." Dev didn't ask him to elaborate. It was not a secret that her Granddad felt responsible for 'condemning' his adopted family, especially his wife, from whom he did not have permission to turn. At least with Edward his mother gave him her consent.

"Hey." She said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "No one blames you." He shook his head. "Really, Granddad, I'm happy. I'm so happy. I'm with you and I'm with you forever, what more could I ask for?" Carlisle looked to her as if she had gone mad.

"I should have protected you. The Romanians should never have trespassed." Dev sighed.

"It's not your fault. Trust me, if we meet again, I'll give them what's coming to them." Carlisle took her hand and gave it a squeeze.

"You're such a good girl." Dev snorted and shook her head.

"I'm really not." She replied with a smirk. "I can't really go to sleep, so do I stare at the wall all night?" She asked and Carlisle gave her arm a pat.

"You'll find something to dove." He reassured her.

She didn't. Devorah actually ended up staring at the wall in her bedroom all night long, dreading what would happen tomorrow.


End file.
